Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, Northern Regional Minister, says the numerous conflicts plaguing the Northern part of the country were orchestrated and financed by certain interest groups who did not reside in the region. He said such interest groups, some of whom hailed from the area, had political or economic motives for funning conflicts, which were to their advantage and did not care about the hardships their actions brought to the people. Alhaji Idris was speaking at a two-day workshop on "Transformative conflict prevention and peace building" for selected Imams of the Dagbon Traditional Area in Tamale organised by the Assemblies of God Relief and Development Services (AGREDS- Ghana). Participants at the workshop would be taken through topics such as: conflict handling mechanisms, concepts of conflict, violence and peace, retributive verses restorative transformation and dealing with the past. Alhaji Idris appealed to those funning the conflicts in the north to put a stop to it and rather help build stable societies that would bring about development and prosperity to the people. He also cautioned the public against attacks on the police and other security personnel who intervened to restore peace when there was conflict saying: "You are attacking the government when you engage the police in fighting and in that situation you would not be spared". The Minister said it was an embarrassment for political leaders in the North to be asked by their colleagues in the South the reasons for the continuing conflicts in their area. Alhaji Idris said peace and security were vital prerequisites for meaningful development. He encouraged religious leaders to play a more active role in the search for peace. "It is imperative for religious leaders and peace builders to work hand-in-hand in order to complement each other's efforts in the search for peace. “Neither the security agencies nor civil society organisations working alone can achieve this kind of peace", the Minister said. Mr Theophilus Ibrahim Dokurugu, Senior Programme Officer of AGREDS said his organisation had organised series of workshops involving different stakeholders in peace building in the Northern Region to enhance their capacity to resolve conflicts. Source: GNA