The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has justified the swoop its officers conducted at Ashaiman in Accra on Tuesday following the death of one of its young personnel.
Soldiers unleashed mayhem on some residents of Ashaiman on Tuesday with helicopters flying over the area because a young military officer, Trooper Imoro Sherrif, was allegedly stabbed in the town on Saturday, March 4, 2023.
GAF in a press statement explained that, although the military operation was sanctioned by the military high command, it was neither meant to avenge the death of its personnel nor target innocent people.
“GAF wishes to state categorically that the military operation, which was sanctioned by the Military High Command, was NOT to avenge the killing of the soldier but rather to fish out the perpetrators of the heinous crime,” GAF aid in its statement.
The Ghana Armed Forces in the statement announced that, following the operations at Ashaiman-Taifa and Tulaku, the military personnel picked up about 184 suspects aged between 21 and 47 years old and have since handed them over to the Military Police.
In the statement signed by Brigadier General E. Aggrey-Quarshie, Director of General Public Relations at the Ghana Armed Forces, the military command explained that the persons picked up will later be handed over to the Ghana Police Service for screening and for further action.
“During the course of the swoop, the personnel seized 29 slabs and 57 mini slabs of suspected Indian hemp and amnesia among other forms of the narcotics.”
“The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) also wishes to place on record that the swoop was not targeted at innocent civilians but was an intelligence–led operation conducted on suspected hideouts of criminals and crime-prone areas in the general area,” GAF explained in its statement.
On innocent persons being caught up in the mayhem unleashed at Ashaiman, GAF in its statement said it was regrettable.
“GAF however acknowledges that regrettably some innocent persons might have been caught up in the operation and consequently suffered some distress due to the location they found themselves at the time.”
GAF further urged residents to provide meaningful information to security agencies to help unravel the truth of the matter.
