Some 72 residents of Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region, have been arrested by the Military for questioning.
It is unclear as to which barracks the residents have been sent to, but the Member of Parliament for the Ashaiman constituency, Ernest Henry Norgbey, said the number of residents arrested, is likely to exceed 72.
Some soldiers on Tuesday, March 7, reportedly invaded Ashaiman, a suburb of Accra in the Greater Accra region, and brutalized residents in the area over the death of their colleague. Eyewitnesses, said the heavily armed soldiers numbering about 20, stormed the area Tuesday dawn and started attacking residents, preventing them from even stepping out of their homes.
“The soldiers are on the street and preventing everyone from stepping out. I should have left for work by now, but I can’t even step out,” an eyewitness said. Another eyewitness said “We gathered that a military man was killed; a young man, I don’t know what led to his death, but some military have come to the area and nobody can go out. They knock on your door and once you step out, you will receive slaps”.
“It is very dangerous and everybody is scared to go out…they are using their boots, and hands to attack anyone they see. If you are a young man, they just attack you and if you are a woman and dressed in a certain way, you become a suspect to them.”
Eyewitness
The invasion by the soldiers, come after a 22-year-old soldier with the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) band in Sunyani in the Bono Region, was reportedly stabbed to death by unknown attackers Saturday dawn. The soldier, according to sources, was returning from his girlfriend’s house in Taifa and heading towards his residence at Zongo-Laka in Ashaiman, when the unfortunate incident occurred.
Though he was carrying a laptop and other electronic gadgets, the attackers made away with only his iPhone. Police are currently investigating the circumstances under which the soldier was killed and appealing for information from the public.
Public Reactions To The Ashaiman Incident
Videos of the attacks on some residents in Ashaiman, has gone viral on social media after military personnel stormed the area, and coarsened citizens. In some of these videos, personnel were seen hitting and brutalizing residents, who were outside of their rooms during the early hours of the day.
The incident started at dawn; today, March 7, 2023, at Official town in Ashaiman, during the heavy downpour. Reports indicate that residents were forced to stay in their rooms, until there was a calm atmosphere.
Pictures from the scene of the incident showed the lifeless body of the victim, who was in what seems to be military trousers that has been torn. His military cap and a white material, had been used to cover his face. Also, his military bag could be seen lying close to him. The Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police Service are yet to comment on the incident.
The Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, Ernest Henry Norgbey, has given details of what happened in the Ashaiman community, as military personnel invaded the area to brutalize residents over the alleged death of one of their members.
According to Ernest Henry Norgbey, he received a call at 3am today, concerning the invasion of some military personnel, who had been dehumanizing innocent citizens going about their daily activities. He therefore, spoke to the Deputy Defense Minister, to do something about the military personnel on the streets of Ashaiman, due to the fear that had gripped the community at large.
Meanwhile, others on twitter supported the idea raised, that the actual culprits responsible for the death of the young soldier, had probably left the town and innocent people were paying for a crime, they knew nothing about. Thus they pleaded, that the army stopped their random attacks on the civilians.
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