By Emma Arubi

WARRI – FIGHTING continued, yesterday, at Ekpan community in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, following which soldiers from the Effurun Army Barracks in the area took over the community to  stem the spate of killings.

The fighting between the  two youth groups in the community is over the leadership of the community.

Armoured tanks were also rolled out, yesterday,  to complement the soldiers, who were drafted to  checkmate  the youth groups, who  had turned the peaceful community into a theatre of war.

The community had been  embroiled in a battle of supremacy between the two youth groups since last Friday,  leading to the killing of three persons.

Gun shots rented the air again, yesterday, as the two groups  in the community  engaged themselves in guerilla fight to beat the  soldiers deployed to the area.

Vanguard gathered that the incident, which had become a recurring decimal in the community had claimed many lives leaving government and security agents helpless because of the powers behind the crisis.

Trouble started at about 9.40 p.m., last Friday when a youth was allegedly shot dead by a group loyal to the chief, while the other group responded by killing a member of the group.

Police sources disclosed that the third person, a woman labourer, was killed on Saturday by stray bullets during a gun duel between  the rival groups.

The identities of the victims were given as Edigbe Ikpesa and Paul Pupu while the identity of the woman labourer, was yet to be unravelled. Socio-economic activities in the area, however, remained paralysed since Friday with residents locking themselves in their  homes while shops remained closed.