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Two military personnel, who claimed they are stationed at the “army headquarters”, have received the beating of their lives by angry residents of Ga South Municipal Assembly in the Greater Accra region.
What started as a peaceful demonstration on Tuesday, by a group calling itself the Coalition of Ga Communities, to demand the withdrawal of soldiers at Dome Faase turned violent.
There were exchanges of gunshots leading to the dispossessing of four guns belonging to the soldiers, Angel FM’s Odehye Kwaku Asiedu reports.
Two soldiers were also seized by the angry youth.
The residents of about 20 communities who staged the demonstration had called on the Ministry of Defence to as matter of urgency withdraw the soldiers deployed to the constituency back to the barracks.
One of the soldiers who has Asare-Addo on his name tag told journalists they were deployed to the area by “our big men”.
“We were called to come and assist them [on the request of] the Mponua Hene of Akyim Apadwa Nana Baffour Sarpong Okumakum, to assist them to secure the land,” he narrated.
According him, the Municipal Chief Executive and the Assembly member for the area as well as some chiefs were aware of their presence there, noting that the Zongo chief was even the first person they were introduced to.
He claimed they also went to the police station to inform the “crime officer and the CID in charge” about their mission in the area.
The soldier said when they saw the protestors approaching them on Tuesday, they gave warning shots, expecting that they will back down for the leadership of both sides – military and communities – to talk. That did not happen, he said, as the residents attacked them, claiming the people suspected them, the soldiers, of having ulterior motive.
Some cars were burnt by the angry demonstrators.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Chief Executive of Ga South Municipal Assembly, Joseph Nyani Stevens has condemned the attack on the military personnel.
