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Policy Analyst of the People's National Convention (PNC), Atik Mohammed, has bemoaned the protracted violence in Bawku and its environs and wants authorities in the area to swiftly take pragmatic steps to resolve the conflicts. Speaking on Peace FM�s "Kokrokoo", Atik Mohammed lauded the approach by the Interior Minister, Mr. Mark Woyongo and the National Security Council Secretariat to discourage the residents from the use of guns to solve their challenges. Residents of Bawku will be given a month moratorium to return any gun in their possession. The "guns for cash" deal is aimed at getting rid of all illegal weapons in the area. The Minister, speaking in an interview with Daily Graphic, noted that "there were far too many guns in the Bawku area", and so stressed the need to seize them in order to end the violence in the area. According to him, these guns fuel the conflict "as some gun owners occasionally tested the guns through sporadic shootings.� Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi, Atik Mohammed was worried about the activities of militants in the area who are mostly the youth and claimed that they have been turned into "agents and weapons of destruction" instead of being "agents of development." He therefore called on the authorities to relentlessly combat violence in the Region, saying it is time the authorities adopted realistic measures to solve the situation. He commended the Minister for the initiative, stating that the "guns for cash" exercise might help end violence in the area.