Allegations that some soldiers killed “innocent Kusasi youth and women in their homes and towns” have been dismissed by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) as “false” and “unfounded.”
“The attention of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has been drawn to allegations by some individuals in Bawku that soldiers deployed on Operation Gongong to restore calm in the area are killing innocent Kusasi youth and women in their homes and communities. They also allege that military personnel have seized Zoogin, a Kusasi community,” a statement signed by Naval Captain Michael Addo Larbie, Director of Public Relations said and described the allegations as “false”.
According to information the Operation Gongong Team of GAF received from the National Investigations Bureau, passengers on a yellow KIA Grand Bird Bus with Registration Number AS 3672-21 traveling from Accra to Missiga were attacked by unidentified gunmen in the area of Kpawelga on the Bawku Highways. According to the statement, some of the shooters opened fire through the car’s engine and tires. The bus, according to the report, was reportedly filled for an inquiry at Asylum Down, Bawku Divisional Police Station. According to the statement, one KIA Rhino truck with the license plate AS 7093-17 was also struck, and its 40-year-old Gonja tribal member driver Alhassan Abdella was shot in the left foot.
“He is currently receiving treatment at the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital,” it said. It said again, on Wednesday February 01, 2023, gunshots were heard around South Natinga in Bawku.
A Patrol Team was dispatched, according to the statement, to the approximate vicinity of the shooting where Abdul Malik Haruna, 35, a suspect from the Mamprusi tribe, was detained and afterwards turned over to the Bawku Police for additional investigation. According to the report, military and Bawku Police conducted cordon and search operations in the Pateleme General Area after receiving information from the Bawku Police about the location of the suspects thought to have been engaged in the shooting incident in Bawku. According to the statement, three suspects from the Dagomba tribe, Fatau Alhassan Binda, 42, Abubakar Iddrisu, 44, and Alhassan Mustapha Binda, 33, were detained in a residence in Pateleme and given to the Bawku Police for additional investigation.
According to the report, sporadic gunfire was reported in the Sabongari General Area, and a patrol team sent to examine the situation saw unidentified armed males in black T-shirts and black hoodies at the Gozesi-Valley side of Sabongari. According to the statement, the troops engaged the men and “neutralized” six armed men. It also said that some of the armed men had taken cover in a nearby mud hut to engage the Team. According to the report, one of the armed men tried to use a cutlass to attack the troops but was disarmed in the process. Also, during the operation, troops discovered a local woman who had been shot in the left hand and took her to Bawku Presbyterian Hospital for treatment.
According to the statement, “false allegations” had forced GAF to release the findings in order to refute untrue reports and the incorrect assumption that forces in Bawku were targeting a specific group. It reassured the populace of its dedication to protecting the populace at all times and enlisted the help of all Ghanaians who value peace, especially the natives of Bawku, to speed up the process of restoring normalcy to the region. The statement also urged them to work with GAF to defuse the situation for the sake of the peace and security required for Bawku’s and the country’s overall socioeconomic growth.
