68-year-old woman killed at Alavanyo

The Volta Regional Police Command has initiated investigations into a shooting incident at Alavanyo which  claimed the life of a 68-year-old woman.

A police team has been deployed to the area to ascertain the cause of the incident.

The woman, who has been identified as Francisca Agbodogli, is said to have been shot by unknown assailants in her house last Saturday afternoon.

Information gathered by the Daily Graphic indicates that the woman was fetching water from a barrel in her house when the attack took place.

She was reportedly shot in the head.

People in the town are said to be living in fear after the incident.

Two killings

This brings to two the number of people who have been shot at Nkonya and Alavanyo under bizarre circumstance this year after the Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, had visited the two towns in January to initiate a new peace process between them towards finding a lasting solution to the age-long land conflict.

The first murder involved a farmer who was shot on his farm at Alavanyo about a month ago.

Although some residents believe the attack could be linked to the protracted conflict between Nkonya and Alavanyo, the Volta Regional Police Commander, Mr Peterkin Yentumi Gyinae, said it was too early for such an assumption to be made, as investigations had just started.

Police uncertain about cause of attack

According to him, the police were uncertain as to whether the attack was to settle personal scores or for any other reason.The body of the deceased has since been deposited in a morgue at Kpando.Late last year, a soldier narrowly escaped death when he was shot by unknown assailants at Alavanyo.

Though the police have treated these killings as isolated criminal incidents, nobody has been arrested in connection with the heinous crimes.

A curse 

The Paramount Chief of Alavanyo, Togbe Tsedze Atakora VII, in the heat of the incident involving the soldier, was said to have pronounced a curse on the culprits, who he believed hid behind the alleged conflict to perpetrate crime against the people.

The Ankobeahene of the Nkonya Ahenkro Traditional Area, Nana Ampem Darko III, called on the government, the police and the security authorities to isolate the persistent land dispute between the two communities from violent activities perpetrated against the citizens under the guise of the land dispute.

Meanwhile, the two communities are under a curfew to prevent violent activities.