Five people have died and others injured following a clash between two illegal timber logger groups in Sefwi Agyemadiem in the Juaboso District of the Western North Region.
According to reports, the clash in the forested area on Tuesday, March 11, was triggered by weeks-long tension over control of area sections.
The tensions peaked when the two sides engaged in a deadly confrontation using machetes, pump-action guns, and other tools commonly used in their illicit logging activities.
They also set a Mitsubishi pickup truck ablaze in the thick of the confrontation.
The five deceased persons are said to be from one faction, although their identities are yet to be made public.
Their bodies have since been deposited at the morgue, while the injured are receiving treatment at the Sefwi Asawinso Hospital.
Meanwhile, the police have since been deployed to the area to restore calm and investigate the incident.
This comes weeks after the Chief of Sefwi Boinzan and Kontihene of Sefwi Wiawso Traditional Area, Nana Ofori Ahenkan II, urged the government to take immediate action to curb illegal timber logging activities in the region’s forest reserves.
Residents have also called for stricter law enforcement to prevent further destruction of their forests and to curb the violence linked to these activities.