Two people have been confirmed dead in Zabzugu, a suburb of Yendi, during a confrontation between armed policemen and the youth. A 21-year old man was hit by a bullet on the chest and died shortly afterwards, whilst another was lynched by the youth on suspicion of being a wizard. The police in Zabzugu had on Sunday attempted to rescue two women accused of witchcraft and murder; they fired warning shots to quell the angry youth who attacked them during the rescue mission. The young man who died from the bullet wound, has since been buried, but earlier, the youth had threatened to dump the corpse at the police station in protest. According to Joy FM’s Northern Regional correspondent, Mahama Shaibu, the youth had seized and held the women hostage; They were accused of causing the death of a nursing mother about three days ago, and the youth had wanted to consult a shrine for confirmation. He told Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, host of Joy FM Super Morning Show, the police, allegedly acting on the orders of the District Chief Executive of Zabzugu/Tatale, John Yakubu Bashiru, went to the place to seize the women from the angry youth. “When the police got to the scene, they were stoned and the police responded by firing warning shots,” Mahama Shaibu reported. “Unfortunately,” he said, “one of the warning shots hit a 21-year-old guy.” The victim was rushed to the Yendi Hospital but was confirmed dead by the hospital authorities. However, the police succeeded in the operation and rescued the two women to a nearby village in Tatale for further investigations. According to Mahama Shaibu, after the police incident, the unrelenting youth attacked the man believed to be a wizard and lynched him. Calm has been restored, and the police force at the town has also been re-enforced to beef up security in the district. Various attempts to get the police’s side of the story were unsuccessful. Story by Isaac Essel