By: Deborah Amewoyi.
Scores of miners have been severely injured and others reported dead as a result of a clash between illegal gold miners and the military at the Anglogold Ashanti mine in Obuasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
Preceding events leading to the incident according to reports revealed that some illegal miners trying to breach one of Anglogold Ashanti’s mine concessions clashed with military officials guarding the place leading to the disturbances amidst gunfires and other brutalities.
A large number of people have been severely injured whilst about 10 persons have reportedly lost their lives. Due to the tensions arising from the disturbances, all public and private schools have been temporarily shut down.
Meanwhile, the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners (GNASSM) has condemned the military for employing deadly alternatives to apprehend trespassers leading to casualties.
However, officials of Anglogold Ashanti have revealed that the military security at the mine concession were acting in self defense since most of the trespassing illegal miners were heavily armed.
Official release from the office of the president, John Dramani Mahama have ordered thorough investigations into the issues surrounding the killings at the mine and promises to bring all perpetrators to book. In the meantime, the president demands that Anglogold Ashanti bears the cost for injured individuals and burial services of the deceased.
