The situation at Hohoe in the Volta Region is still volatile, as the traditional authorities have handed the Muslim youth a 48-hour ultimatum to return all regalia allegedly stolen from the chief�s palace.
Information reaching DAILY GUIDE indicated that the Gbi Traditional Council had warned that if by Friday the stolen regalia of the Paramount Chief, Togbega Gabusu VI, were not returned, they would advise themselves.
According to Togbe Keh, the Miasifia (Benkumhene) of Gbi and the Chief of Wegbe, after the attack by the Muslims on Togbe Gabusu�s palace, some regalia and insignia could not be found; they therefore stressed that if these were not returned, the consequences would be unpleasant.
Indigenes, particularly women, were seen clad in red, to register their displeasure over the turn of events and their support for their chiefs.
The council gave the ultimatum during a meeting with the Commanding Officer of the Southern Command, Brigadier General Martin Ahiaglo in Hohoe.
Togbe Keh, who spoke for the council, cautioned the police against incessant attacks on the indigenes, otherwise they would be forced to defend themselves.
Prior to the meeting, the Muslims and Zongo community in Hohoe had started fleeing from the town following arson attacks on two of their houses yesterday dawn, even with the dusk-to-dawn curfew being in force.
The attack, which was a breach of the curfew, had put fear in the Zongo community, resulting in the mass exodus.
The Commander had been meeting with the two factions to calm them down tempers and restore order in the area.
The factions had since last Monday engaged in clashes which left three people dead, with several injuries and destruction of properties running into thousands of Ghana cedis.
Although curfew was imposed on the area last Monday to restore calm and curb the reprisal attacks, the latest arson attacks sent signals that the clashes were far from over.
DAILY GUIDE also learnt that chiefs of surrounding communities where some of the Muslims had gone to seek refuge were also turning them away.
A few of the refugees who spoke to DAILY GUIDE appealed to the government to come to their aid.
The Zongo community in Hohoe also expressed fear, as it called for more protection from security agencies. Some indigenes also expressed fear and called for a solution within the shortest possible time.
Apart from Brigadier Amaglo, the National Chief Imam, Sheik Osman Nuhu Sharubutu and the Regional Minister and his Deputy, Henry Ford Kamel and Henry Ametefe respectively, had engaged leaders of the two factions.
Mr Kamel, who is Chairman of the Regional Security Council, announced that a committee of eminent persons was to be established to investigate the clashes and proffer a solution to the impasse.
Some eminent chiefs, including the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli state, Togbe Afede XIV, are expected in the municipality today to meet the feuding factions to calm nerves.
The clashes in Hohoe were triggered by the exhumation of the corpse of the Chief Imam of the Muslim community.
Infuriated by the exhumation, the Zongo youth ransacked the palace of Togbega Gabusu and burnt two of his vehicles, palanquin and other valuables.
They then took to the streets and started attacking indigenes, an action which infuriated the locals who mobilized themselves from far and near, and in turn burnt down shops belonging to the Muslims.
A timely intervention by the police and the military averted a possible bloodbath, hence the curfew.
Muslim Leaders� Assurance
Muslim leaders in the town assured the Gbi Traditional Council they would assist in the search for the regalia.
�We assure you that anybody in possession of those things we will make sure they return them. We are indeed disturbed about whatever is going on,� spokesperson of the Muslim youth, Alhaji Anas Dawuda, told Joy FM.
He was worried the clashes would destroy the healthy relationship they had built with the chiefs over the years.
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