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Two persons have been confirmed dead, while seven others, who are in critical condition, are receiving treatment at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital, in the Upper East Region, following renewed chieftaincy dispute clashes, on Saturday night.

Sources at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital, confirmed to The Ghanaian Times that two person died while seven others, who are in critical condition were responding to treatment at the hospital.

It is not clear exactly what triggered the clash, but reports indicated that confusion erupted at a funeral ground among the two royal families, resulting in the setting ablaze of two houses, belonging to members of the two factions in the Bolgatanga chieftaincy dispute, Naba Raymond Alafia Abilba II and Naba Joseph AbekaNonge-Buuri, on Saturday night, at about 8:00 pm in Atulibabiisi, a suburb of Bolgatanga.

There were sporadic gunshots, and some people wielded machetes and pelted stones, and some residents fled their homes to seek asylum elsewhere.

It took personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service several hours to quench the fire, but property, including motor bikes, belonging to both factions was destroyed.

The source indicated that the health personnel at the hospital feared attacks from the factions, and requested for the reinforcement of security from the police, and seven armed policemen were dispatched to guard the health facility.

When The Ghanaian Times contacted the Bolgatanga Municipal Police Commander, Superintendent Samuel Punobyin, over the incident, he said that the police command would conduct investigations to ascertain the cause of the renewed clashes.

Meanwhile, there is heavy military and police patrol within the Atulibabiisi area of the Bolgatanga Municipality, to maintain law and order.

At the time of filing this report there was relative calm in the municipality.