Ghanaian ministers resign over king's death

Two of Ghana's senior government ministers have resigned following the death of a tribal leader in inter-clan fighting.

The king of Ghana's influential Dagomba tribe died along with at least 25 of his supporters in the violence between the Andani and the Abudu clans in the northern town of Yendi.

Interior Minister Malik al-Hassan Yakubu resigned amid accusations that he backed one of two feuding clans involved in the fighting.

Imoro Andani, the minister for the northern region where the killings took place, has also quit his job over the incident.

State of emergency

Meanwhile, the government is trying to defuse tension in Yendi - a town about 100 kilometres east of the city of Tamale.

I have ordered a full-scale operation to identify, apprehend and bring to justice the perpetrators

John Kufuor

Ghanaian President John Kufuor has declared a state of emergency in the Dagbon region. Troops have been deployed to guard key buildings and keep the peace, and a dusk-to-dawn curfew is in force.

"I have ordered a full-scale operation to identify, apprehend and bring to justice the perpetrators of these heinous crimes," said Mr Kufuor.

A 10-member government team, headed by Senior Minister Joseph Mensah, the highest-ranking cabinet minister, left for the region on Friday.

Intense rivalry

The 50-year-old king - a former schoolteacher - was the second most important regent in Ghana after the ruler of the country's Ashanti ethnic group.

Original reports stated that he had been beheaded, but his brother Alhasan Andani said he died from bullet wounds.

The Abudus and the Andanis share the leadership of the Dagombas and have a history of intense rivalry.

The latest violence flared on Monday, when two people were shot and wounded after an argument over who should perform certain rituals associated with Yendi's traditional fire festival, known as the Bugum.

It is regarded as one of Ghana's most picturesque festivals, involving a night-time display of drumming and dancing by the light of blazing torches.

The Dagombas make up about 8% of Ghana's population.