The Ranking Member of Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee has warned of a deadly new dimension to the Bawku conflict, with feuding factions attacking the security forces.

Rev John Ntim Fordjour, speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Monday, April 14, described a fast-deteriorating humanitarian and security crisis in the Bawku enclave.

“The death toll is rising. People are living in fear. Children can’t go to school,” he lamented.

“No essential services are thriving at the moment. Teachers, doctors, and nurses are refusing postings to Bawku.”

According to him, what once was a long-standing tribal conflict now bears the dangerous dimension of open hostility toward state authority.

“We’ve seen a worrying trend—the new dimension of the conflict seems to be taking shape between one of the feuding factions and the security services,” he stated.

“It seems like some reprisals between the youth on one side and the police, and that is very dangerous. Because the security is there to ensure the protection of our citizens.”

He warned that if this animosity against law enforcement deepens, it will undermine the very institutions meant to guarantee peace and order.

“If the dimension of the conflict now extends beyond tribal grievances into clashes with the security agencies who are there to protect them, that can also be very dangerous.”

Rev. Fordjour, speaking on behalf of the minority in Parliament, called for immediate restraint on all sides.

“Bawku deserves peace,” he stressed. “For peace to prevail, we want all feuding parties to exercise absolute restraint. That will help minimise reprisal attacks. Because if one faction thinks they’ve been attacked and they also go on to reprise, then further escalation is inevitable.”

Beyond restraint, he is urging a non-partisan, collective national response to the crisis.

“Government has to step up a bit more,” he said, calling for a fresh approach devoid of political undertones.

“This conflict cannot be politicised. Every politician must remove political tendencies, undertones, and underpinnings from this conflict.”

Referencing past election cycles, he criticized some political rhetoric that has worsened tensions.

“We’ve heard promises made just before elections, some pronouncements to the effect that when a certain party is in power, Bawku conflicts escalate. When another party is in power, it dies down. This is not the time for that. We must refrain from it.”

Rev. Fordjour also worried about the proliferation of advanced weapons in the conflict zone.

“The kind of weapons our brothers and sisters have access to in Bawku is really troubling,” he stated.

“It’s dangerous. It’s part of the reason why there’s this seeming confidence to even have a standoff with security agencies.”

He called for an urgent investigation into how these weapons are entering the region, and decisive action by the state to clamp down on the supply chain.

“Wherever the source of this weaponry is, government needs to act urgently,” he declared.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Rev. Fordjour maintained that all political sides must rally behind a unified, nationalistic effort.

“We are supporting the government,” he affirmed. “All of us must come together, depoliticise this matter, support Otumfuo-led mediation, and restore lasting peace.”