Minister for Interior, Ambrose Dery, has called on the people of Bimbilla to let last Thursday's chieftaincy related killings be the last in the area.

Mr Dery made the call when he led a government delegation to visit the Regent of Bimbilla at his palace on Tuesday as part of a fact-finding mission to the area to assess the security situation, following last Thursday's chieftaincy clashes in the area.

The government delegation comprised Mr Dominic Nitiwul, Minister for Defence, who is also Member of Parliament for Bimbilla, Ms Otiko Afisah Djabah, Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr Asante-Apeatu, and members of the Northern Regional Security Council.

Mr Dery said government would not shirk its responsibility towards protecting the citizenry and would ensure that all culprits were prosecuted and made to suffer the appropriate punishment.

 He said that was why the government deployed an investigative team of police and military personnel to Bimbilla to investigate the causes of the incident.

 He stated that government would not interfere in cheiftaincy affairs as that was the preserve of traditional authorities and appealed to all to cooperate with the security agencies by divulging information to deal with all the culprits.

Photo: Residents fled the area to nearby towns in the wake of the conflict

Mr Dery urged all residents of Bimbilla to be confident to go about their normal duties as security personnel were in charge of the situation.

Meanwhile, some shops opened on Tuesday as business activities began to flourish in the area.

Renewed conflict last week in the Northern Region claimed about 11 lives – women and children included – and destroyed properties.

A dozen more are reported injured.

The sporadic shooting in the town on Thursday, February 9, 2017, was triggered by a misunderstanding between two royal gates.

The gun battle between the two royal gates happened despite a 12-hour curfew imposed on the area, a situation that threatens to plunge the poverty-ravaged township into yet another chaotic situation.

Efforts to end the decades-old Bimbila chieftaincy bloodshed have proved elusive to different governments.