Clash in Manso Keniago leaves six reportedly dead
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on 3News
The reported toll from Wednesday’s clash in Manso Keniago has reached six dead and 15 injured, but the figures remain disputed. District Chief Executive Benjamin Marfo reports three dead and 14 to 16 injured and promises an investigation, according to 3News.
The toll from the clash on Wednesday in Manso Keniago, in southern Ghana, has been put at six dead and 15 injured by JoyNews, which reported the figures from the Amansie South community. Police and the hospital have not confirmed any toll, however, while local authorities give different figures.
District Chief Executive Benjamin Marfo reported three dead and 14 injured, possibly 16, and promised an investigation. Local assembly member Charles Oduro, who visited the injured at St Martin’s Hospital, meanwhile reported four dead and 15 injured, some from neighbouring communities.
On Thursday, young people dressed in red and black surrounded the palace of the chief of Manso Keniago, Nana Obeng Mensah Ababio II. Police intervened when they attempted to attack Benjamin Marfo as he arrived to offer his condolences, JoyNews reports. The young people accuse the local official of failing to intervene after residents' calls during the shooting, an accusation that has not been established.
The illegal mining control agency NAIMOS says its agents acted in self-defence after being confronted by an armed crowd while they were evacuating seized excavators. Traditional chief Nana Obeng Mensah Ababio II, on the other hand, says the residents did not attack first and calls for an independent investigation. The district security council visited the scene and the hospital, while traditional authorities called on President John Dramani Mahama and the inspector general of police to order an independent investigation. The clash follows three dead after clash with illegal miners in Ghana, published on 11 November.
