Reports from the volatile town of Bawku in the Upper East Region indicate there has been a sustained gun battle between dissidents and security agencies throughout Wednesday morning. Joy FM’s Regional Correspondent, Joseph Osei reports that the shooters managed to beat security checks and got close to a delegation led by the regional minister which was about to hold a meeting to discuss the increasing insecurity in the area. They daringly opened fire at a crowd near the meeting grounds scuttling not only the meeting but also dispersing other residents minding their own business. The people ran helter-skelter to save their lives as the security agencies engaged the shooters. Joseph Osei, said the Regional Minister’s entourage had just paid a courtesy call on the Bawku Naaba, Abugrago Azoka, and was about to start the meeting when the shooting started. This is the second time the minister has been caught in a cross-fire. The last one he had to lie flat on his belly to avoid being hit by bullets. The latest shootings come as the authorities contemplate the imposition of a state of emergency on the Bawku township and its surrounding areas. An exasperated Mark Woyongo, the Upper East Regional Minister told Joy FM Tuesday the security situation in Bawku had become scary as people resorted to guerrilla tactics to wreck havoc on their opponents. A man believed to be a Mamprusi was Monday attacked, killed and burnt under very harrowing circumstances. That incident was preceded by other dastardly ones in which a woman was killed and dumped in a well and another man lynched. Mamprusis and Kusasis have engaged in violent ethnic conflict that has not only claimed lives and property but has remained a noose in the necks of successive governments. Some residents told Joy News they were frustrated at the deteriorating security situation. They said they would leave the town had they any choice. Commenting on the latest shooting, the Member of Parliament for Binduri near Bawku, Mr Steven Yakubu said the government had lost control of the security in Bawku. He told Joy News’ Dzifa Bampoh the government had failed to involve the five MPs from the area in efforts to find a solution to the intractable conflict. Mr Yakubu wants the government to without delay issue a White Paper on a court ruling on the matter. He wondered what was holding the government from issuing the white paper when the NDC while in opposition chastised the then NPP government for exacerbating the tensions in the area by failing to issue the white paper, and promising to do so immediately once it won the 2008 elections. The Binduri MP urged the Atta Mills-led government to show bold leadership by making its stance on the happenings there known through a government white paper. He also wants the security agencies to treat people who disturb the peace as criminals and punished for their crimes. Story by Malik Abass Daabu/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana