Six people have reportedly died and 15 others sustained injuries following a violent confrontation between residents of Manso Keniago and personnel of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) in the Amansie South District of the Ashanti Region.
The incident is linked to a dispute over the movement of excavators seized by the anti-illegal mining task force through the community.
Some residents and traditional authorities reportedly objected to the plan to transport the equipment along a tarred road, arguing that low-bed trailers should be used instead.
Domi-Keniago Chief Nana Obeng Mensah Ababio II has called for justice for the victims and demanded that those responsible for the incident be held accountable.
The circumstances that led to the shootings remain contested.
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NAIMOS maintains that its personnel came under obstruction from an armed group attempting to prevent the movement of the excavators. The Secretariat said officers fired warning shots during the confrontation and two of its personnel sustained gunshot wounds.
But residents and traditional authorities have disputed the Secretariat’s account, insisting that the excavator was not seized from Manso Keniago and was only being transported through the community.
The competing accounts have yet to be independently verified.
