Two rival chiefs in the area are reported to be engaged in a protracted litigation over ownership of a parcel of land close to the school.

One of the factions reportedly deployed land guards to assert control, leading to the violent incident that subsequently saw the temporary closure of the school.

On Thursday, February 27, 2025, authorities at the Bokankye Kindergarten, Primary, and Junior High School temporarily closed down the school after gunshot were fired close to their premises.

The violent attack between two factions laying claim to a parcel of land, two blocks away from the school, caused fear and panic among students and staff.

School authorities and community leaders justified the temporary closure, citing the frequent sporadic gunfire sometimes perforated the school’s roofs.

“There’s a parcel of land that’s two blocks away from here. On Thursday, the teachers and students here heard gun shots and quickly called me in. We understand one of the local chiefs had ordered land guards to ward off any attempts by another group on laying claim to the place. They fired shots preventing anyone and according to the teachers the guns could perforate the roof. We agreed to let everyone stay away from school,” Richard Kwabena Boateng, Unit Committee Vice Chairman of the area, said.

According to leaders at the community, a court injunction has been secured, barring all parties from accessing the disputed land until an amicable resolution.

“On Monday, the local leaders met and called the district police commander who assured a court injunction had been secured to prevent the two groups from laying ownership to the land until a compromise was reached,” he added.

The school has however resumed amidst fears as community members call for immediate resolution to the impasse.

“Indeed, what the chiefs are doing has put fear in the school children and teachers. We have however asked the students to come to school assuring their parents of tight security measures,” Richard noted.

According to sources, the clash began when Police officers refused to allow Customs officials to inspect a Togo-bound truck suspected of carrying smuggled cocoa beans.

Customs personnel insisted on conducting the inspection, leading to a heated standoff between the two agencies.

The tension escalated, resulting in an exchange of gunfire between the Customs and Police officers.

Military officers were eventually called in to de-escalate the situation.

A video of the incident captured the moment a heated verbal argument spiraled into violence, with gunshots ringing out and bystanders had to flee for safety.

For several minutes, the checkpoint turned into a chaotic and dangerous scene as the two security agencies exchanged fire, raising serious concerns about interagency coordination in protecting Ghana’s borders.

Source: Adomonline

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The US Embassy in Haiti issued a security alert on Friday, warning of gunfire and disruptions to traffic near the domestic and international terminals of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, as well as surrounding areas including a hotel and the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police.

“The US Embassy is temporarily halting travel of official US personnel to the airport and instructing any US personnel at the airport to remain there,” the embassy said.

It comes a day after shootings erupted across Haiti’s capital, forcing flight cancellations and killing at least four people during an attack on a police station.

American Airlines said Thursday it had suspended its daily service between Miami and Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince.

“We will continue to monitor the situation with safety and security top of mind and will adjust our operation as needed,” spokesperson Laura Masvidal told CNN.

Haitian airline Sunrise Airways told CNN that it suspended “all flights until further notice to ensure the safety of passengers, ground crews, and aircraft.”

Rapid gunfire near the airport had “caused damage to some aircraft and endangered users” of the domestic terminal, according to Sunrise Airways.

A US flight carrying dozens of Haitian deportees was also canceled, according to a source with knowledge of the operation and a lawyer for one of the deportees.

Immigration lawyer Philip Issa told CNN on Friday that his client was removed and taken back to detention facilities after boarding the plane in Miami Thursday.

“It’s baffling that we’ve continued to deport people to Haiti when the conditions are so dire,” he said, while also complaining that US authorities had failed to provide food to the detainees or let them out since 4 p.m. the previous day.

CNN has reached out to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment.

Surging gang violence

Haiti has been gripped by a wave of unrest and gang violence in recent years.

Warring gangs control much of Port-au-Prince, choking off vital supply lines to the rest of the country. Gang members have also terrorized the metropolitan population, forcing some 200,000 people to flee their homes amid waves of indiscriminate killing, kidnapping, arson and rape.

Some 1,100 people were killed, injured, or kidnapped in January alone, in what the United Nations called the most violent month in two years.

More than 8,400 people were victims of such violence through last year, according to a report from the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BIUH).

Waves of crime and violence began to sweep across Haiti following the assassination of former President Jovenel Moise in 2021.

Public frustration has mounted against Prime Minister Ariel Henry for his failure to put a lid on the unrest, especially after he failed to hold elections supposedly slated for last month, citing the escalating violence.

On Wednesday, Henry told other Caribbean nations’ leaders during a regional summit that he would hold polls no later than August 31 next year, his first confirmation on when a vote will finally go ahead.

Leaders from the CARICOM regional bloc – a political and economic grouping of 20 developing countries and mostly island states – said they agreed to dispatch a team to assess the electoral needs of Haiti.

A powerful Haitian gang leader said gun fights that broke out across Port-au-Prince on Thursday were aimed at overthrowing Henry’s government, multiple media outlets reported.

Jimmy Cherizier, known as “Barbecue,” said in a video shared on social media that the battle will “not only topple the Ariel [Henry] government,” but “change the whole system,” according to international news agencies and Haitian media. CNN cannot independently verify the video’s authenticity.

An attack on Bon Repos Police Station, north of Port-au-Prince, on Thursday left at least four people dead and three wounded, a security source told CNN.

Three other people were injured in separate attacks across the capital – one at the airport, a second near a prison in downtown Port-au-Prince, and a third inside the prison, the security source said.