On Monday, January 6, 2025, a bus carrying largely female passengers was ambushed by unidentified attackers in Bawku.
While traveling from Bolgatanga to Bawku under security escort, the attackers attacked the bus and started shooting.
One passenger, identified as Nuaima Awudu, a young merchant who had come to Bolgatanga for work, was killed in the incident.
A number of other people were hurt and are being treated at the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital.
The attack comes after a resident was slain on Sunday, January 5, while trying to relocate to a different area of the town. The tenuous quiet that has returned to Bawku in recent weeks has been disturbed by these incidents.
Bawku residents are confined to their settlements to prevent violence, living in constant terror. Because people run the possibility of being targeted, traveling outside of one’s immediate neighborhood has become more perilous.
The security situation is unstable even after a dawn-to-dusk curfew was implemented in November 2024 with the intention of reestablishing order. The attackers’ identities and the status of the measures to stop the violence have not yet been disclosed by the authorities.
The recurring violence in Bawku continues to raise concerns about the effectiveness of security measures in the area and the need for lasting solutions to ensure the safety of residents and travellers alike.
