Residents OF Garu-Tempane district in the Upper East Region have expressed fear because of recent violent killings and what they described as strange deaths in the district. According to them, they are yet to understand why two men in the area were shot by some unidentified gunmen, all of which occurred in the night, adding that the victims appeared to have been targeted. Residents said they felt insecure and frightened as they did not know the reasons for the killings, nor who would be the next victim. The Garu-Tempane District Police Commander, DSP Richard Appiah, confirmed the two deaths and said there had been other deaths in recent times which the police considered as natural deaths following post-mortem carried out by certified pathologists. But residents refer to some other deaths as strange deaths, including that of a woman whose lifeless body was found floating on a river. According to the district commander, following the two shootings, police patrols have been intensified. A police investigator in the district, Detective Sergeant Isaac Brako, told Daily Guide that on October 16, 2010, a 38- year-old man; Mobugri Issah, a Mamprusi man, was shot at Kugri as he was riding to Songo, where he lives. According to Mr. Brako, Mobugri is a motor taxi rider (okada) who had closed from work in Garu. On his way back to Songo, he picked up a pillion rider and upon reaching Kugri, which is 2 kilometres from Songo, some unidentified men fired at him and away. The pillion rider, who survived the attack, said when they got to Kugri about 8 pm, to their surprise, two men emerged from a nearby bush. One of them, who was wearing a helmet, fired at the rider, killing him on the spot. Detective Brako said when the distress call came in, the police thought it was an armed robbery case and so they called for military support and sped to the area, where they found the deceased lying in a pool of blood with a gunshot wound while his motorbike also lay a little distance away from him. The detective noted that there was also no sign that the gun men had taken something from the deceased's pockets, adding that they therefore could not conclude that it was an armed robbery. On November 6, after the Upper East region climaxed its Golden Jubilee Celebration, another man, Musah Iddrisu, 40 years and a Busanga, was also shot and died on the spot at Azama near Tempane. Accordion to Detective Brako, Musah was a mechanic who worked at Tempane. He said a member of the public who knew Musah said he saw the deceased in Garu in the evening when he came to visit a lady, adding that he saw Musah leaving Garu on a motorbike. Detective Brako said Musah Iddrisu was shot from behind at Azama. In both shooting incidents, police say AK 47 rifles were used because they found AK 47 spent shells at the scene. DSP Appiah said it was natural for the people of the area to be frightened, especially when they did not know the rationale behind the shootings and other strange deaths. He however assured that police patrols in the area had been intensified and chiefs in the area had been asked to educate their subjects to be very vigilant .and volunteer information to the Police to help in the arrest of criminals. Source: Daily Guide