A middle-aged man has been shot dead by unidentified gunmen near Kalba, a community in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District of the Savannah Region.
According to police, the victim—whose identity is yet to be released—had travelled from his home village of Uro, which has no access to electricity, to Kalba to charge his mobile phone. While returning on his motorcycle, he was ambushed by armed men who emerged from the bush and opened fire. He died instantly.
The body has been deposited at the St. Anne’s Catholic Hospital in Damongo.
Authorities suspect the killing is linked to the protracted Gbenyiri conflict, which has claimed dozens of lives, destroyed property, and displaced more than 50,000 people in recent months.
The renewed clashes were triggered on Saturday, August 23, after a dispute between a Gbenyiri resident and the chief’s son over land ownership. Violence quickly spread to Kalba and other parts of the district, leaving scores injured and entire communities destabilised.
Despite the deployment of 400 police officers to the area, the violence has continued. Only last week, the Inspector General of Police, Christian Tetteh Yohunu, led a joint delegation of senior officers from the Armed Forces, Prisons Service, and Immigration Service on a fact-finding mission to Kalba, Sawla, and other affected areas.
Residents, however, say the presence of security personnel has done little to restore confidence. Speaking on condition of anonymity, one resident expressed deep frustration.
“With this killing, who do you think will trust the system again? Some of us suspected this would happen because the armed groups are still in Kalba. If you make the mistake of going there, they will end your life like this farmer. This only confirms our fears. Authorities need to do more than just visit and talk,” he said.
This latest killing raises the official death toll from the conflict to 32.
