Grand Bassa County – Several persons are feared injured or dead due to a riot that left several houses reportedly burnt, following an uprising amongst some members of the traditional society (Poro or Sande Society) in Grand Bassa County.
A tension sparked after a person was reportedly stabbed on early Saturday morning hours before the traditional rites of the Traditional societies concluded, according to sources.
The tension erupted into riot, leaving an unknown amount of individuals either injured of dead. Marketers who traveled there to do business had to flee while the full detail about the incident remains unknown as the Liberian National Police Detachment in the county remains tightlipped.
A Police source that prefer told FrontPageAfrica hundreds of marketers had to flee when the tension heightened, causing them to leave behind their valuables. There are also unconfirmed reports that there were some deaths during the uprising.
Meanwhile, hundreds of locals flocked the area to celebrate the valediction of several members who received accolades for completing the societal rituals satisfactorily. This, some argued, casted a serious doubt over any further national security investigation into the Saturday’s incident.
Officers of the National Security Agency and the Liberian National Police trooped in early Saturday evening to ascertain the details, but some sources confirmed that locals are reluctant to testify or give any detail.
Kpokon, a town half a mile away from Compound Four – District #1 provisional Capital – was hardest hit, a Police source revealed. “Everybody in the area, one way or the other, is conceiving the information,” the Police source said. “But such a situation is a threat to the county’s security,” the source added.
Another source told FPA that the situation intensified – after a man was stabbed and others (supporting him) retaliated – when a group of guys opened fired in the area with single-barrow rifle guns.
Even the National Security Agency has reportedly said that it is difficult to identify the cause or extent of the crisis, according to Police sources, while some insiders say it is a deeply rooted traditional crisis that will soon be forgotten.
Fear of Insecurity
The pull-out of UNMIL from Grand Bassa County has recently opened debates over the insecurity of the county with some raising concerns over the strength and capability of the Liberia’s security.
Many depots and detachments in the county are short on logistics or transportation, making it difficult for officers in the area to respond to incidents occurring far or near. Some critics say attentions are only given to Monrovia, where all the vehicles – donated or purchased by government – are deployed.
With occurrences of such tension, – traditional or not – there are concerns if it is not probably investigated, there might be a spill over.
County Superintendent Levi Demmah recently underscored the importance of collaborating with chiefs, elders and zonal heads in other to strengthen the security-community relationship; and with the recent Kpokon brawl, there are signals of difficulty.
Grand Bassa County is already a very traditional entrenched society, evident by how sacred and respectable traditional practices are endowed by locals and with national security agencies still tight-lipped on recent situation, there might be more security concerns.
Alpha Daffae Senkepni, [email protected]