Four houses were burnt and four persons injured yesterday as residents of Ogbe-Ijoh and Aladja in Delta State resumed gunfight.
This happened barely 24 hours after the state government met with leaders of both communities and got their assurances that they would maintain the peace.
Youth leaders from both communities, who spoke with The Nation, accused each other of being the aggressor.
They claimed their people were victims of unprovoked attack from the other community.
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, on Wednesday, met with security chiefs and community leaders from Gbaramatu and Ogbe-Ijoh kingdoms, both in Warri South West Local Government Area, as well as those of Aladja community in Udu Local Government Area.
The communities promised to sheathe their swords and allow peace to reign.
But trouble started again yesterday morning when Ijaw youths from Ogbe-Ijoh allegedly stormed the outer flanks of their neighbouring Aladja community, shooting sporadically and burning some houses.
Aladja is an Urhobo community in Udu Kingdom.
While the youth president of Aladja, Wisdom Onotomre, claimed that the attack on his community, around 5 a.m, was unprovoked, the youth president of Ogbe-Ijoh, Edwin Aken, said the attack was provoked by an earlier attack, at 6 a.m, by Aladja residents, leaving two persons injured.
Onotomre said: “Ogbe-Ijoh people woke us up this morning at 5 a.m with an attack. Two of my boys sustained gunshot injuries and they have even burnt four houses. Although we are thanking God that there’s not been any casualty, but they are still in our community, shooting.”
When asked what must caused the renewed fight, Onatomre said: “Nothing caused this one. We were sleeping when we started hearing gunshots.”
But Aken said the attack was a reprisal to an earlier clash in which Aladja youths injured two persons in his ommunity.
He said: “If they say Ogbe-Ijoh people attacked them, that is a very wrong statement. They attacked Ogbe-Ijoh at 6.15 this morning. They came to attack and, definitely, nobody will fold his arms while being attacked. So, it was in retaliation to what they did. Ogbe-Ijoh didn’t just attack them; they attacked us first.
“When they attacked, two persons were njured. That was what sparked the anger in the boys, because His Highness (Pere of Ogbe-Ijoh) always asks us not to attack them. But when they come to injure people here, some of the boys may not be patient enough to give a report, but would rather engage them.”
Police spokesman Andrew Aniamaka, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said houses were burnt during the clash.
The spokesman sad the police command was investigating how the hostility.
He added: “There’s actually a renewed hostility between the two communities of Aladja and Ogbe-Ijoh; some houses were torched. Investigation is on over the case. Among other things, we want to know who initiated this act of hostility. At a time everybody should be talking about peace, they are still engaging in anachronism.
“Violence is no more the way of life. This is coming a day after the state government held a peace meeting with them there in Warri.”