Parliament extends state of emergency

Ghana's parliament has extended by six weeks the state emergency imposed in the northern Dagbon traditional area, where fighting between two clans last week left a traditional ruler and 28 other people dead. Parliament passed the extension on Thursday in a special session held to discuss the 25 March violence between the rival Andani and Abudu clans of the Yendi, the local media reported. It remains unclear what sparked the fighting which occurred over celebrations of the annual Fire Festival of the chiefs and people of the area. On 27 March, President John Kufuor imposed the state of emergency after the people had been killed, including Paramount Chief Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II. The Abudu, local media reported, stormed the palace of Chief Andani with bows and arrows, guns, and machetes. They beheaded him and set his palace ablaze. Dozens more people were wounded. Last week, Interior Minister Malik al-Hassan Yakubu and a northern state governor resigned amid accusations that they had backed a plot against the chief. Meanwhile the government also ordered the media to clear stories on the conflict with the information ministry. A mediation team comprised of traditional rulers of from the Northern region has been set up to solve the crisis, JoyFM radio reported on its website on Friday.