Two youth groups went berserk Saturday morning at Ahwiaa, along the Kumasi-Asante Mampong Highway.
The open-for-all-fight between the two groups from the Zongo and the Asante sections of the hitherto peaceful town, resulted in severe body injuries and massive destruction of properties.
The windscreen of several vehicles, which were either parked or passing through the Ahwiaa township, were reportedly smashed with stones and other deadly weapons by the charged youth.
Cause Of Fracas
The violent clash was said to have been sparked by the funeral of a teenage girl in the community, some residents of the town told this paper.
According to them, the funeral was taking place at the Asante side of the town and some Zongo youth attempted to join them, but that resulted in a misunderstanding, which later turned into a brawl.
The source alleged that the Zongo youth suffered some injuries during a clash on Thursday and so they regrouped and tried to take revenge Saturday morning, which became violent.
Joint Military/Police Team
For some hours, the entire Ahwiaa community became like a war zone as roads were blocked and “people were seen running helter-skelter to save themselves from being hacked or shot at by the blood-thirsty youth,” a source narrated.
A joint military/police team then stormed the area in their numbers; and their presence proved significant as it helped to restore law and order to within some few minutes.
Arrests
The team managed to apprehend some of the gang leaders from the two feuding groups, and normalcy was restored immediately.
About seven or more people, who are said to have played key roles in starting the fight, have been arrested to assist in investigations, reports making the rounds indicated.
The security agents, according to reports, seized some offensive weapons such as locally made pistols, sharp-looking knives and machetes.
Calls For Curfew
Some of the people at Ahwiaa who witnessed the free-for-all brawl were afraid that the two groups might attack each other again and so they urged the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) to impose a curfew on the area.
They said there had been minor clashes and tension between the two feuding group, which escalated into what looked like a war on Saturday
Peace Process
DAILY GUIDE learnt that the opinion leaders and chiefs from the Zongo and the Asante sides were extremely angry about the manner in which the two youth groups instantly turned the entire place into a war zone.
The leaders in the community, this paper learned had reportedly started talks to restore peace in the area as soon as possible and also implement new measures that would prevent the reoccurrence of the violent attacks.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi