the same ethnic group. The dispute becomes inter-ethnic when the disputing factions come from different ethnic groups within a ‘traditional state’, as with the case of Bawku (a communal dispute between Kusasis and Mampuruis in the Bawku traditional area of the Upper East Region of Ghana). In such cases the terms ‘ethnic conflict’ and ‘chieftaincy conflicts’ can be used interchangeably to describe the nature of the conflict. Because
chieftaincy
is
also
closely
associated
with
custodianship of land, the dispute about who is the rightful occupant of the chiefly office is ultimately linked to disputes over control over resources like land, water, mineral resources, etc. Though chieftaincy conflicts occur in all parts of the country, those that have been accompanied by extreme violence have occurred in the Northern and the Upper East Regions, specifically in Dagbon (a chieftaincy dispute between the Abudu and Andani clans of the Dagbong Royal family) and Bawku respectively. Examples of longstanding inter-ethnic conflicts across the country: Northern Region, there are conflicts between the Nanumba and the Konkomba, Gonja and the Konkomba and between the Dagomba and the Konkomba. In the Volta Region, there are two of such conflicts, the Nkonya/Alavanyo conflict and the Nkwanta conflict between the Nawuri and the Adele. And in the Brong-Ahafo Region, the Nafana are in conflict with the Ntore. The Northern Region has witnessed the most violent inter-ethnic clashes in Ghana in the post independent period. The Pito War of 1981 and the Guinea Fowl War of 1994/95 have been the bloodiest. These wars 145