About 14 tipper trucks and an excavator were set ablaze by a team of military personnel believed to be members of the Operation Vanguard in Afayili near Dalun in the Kumbungu District of the Northern Region.
The tipper trucks and excavator which were burnt into ashes were said have loaded sand from the Dalun river.
No official reason had been assigned for the action of the military but many believed it was part of the government's fight against galamsey and land degradation.
The Northern Regional Security Council (REGSEC) early last month gave two weeks' ultimatum for downstream sand winning to halt their activities.
The two weeks ultimatum was as a result of the Ghana Water Company's warning that sand winning could affect water supply in the region particularly Tamale and its surrounding communities.
According to the management of the Ghana Water Company sand winning in the river if not checked immediately would worsen the water crisis in the area.
An eyewitness who gave his name as Alhaji Ahmed Gazali in an interview with the Ghanaian Times yesterday said the military stormed the Dalun riverside burning any vehicle on sight.
According to him some of the drivers of the tipper trucks abandoned their vehicles and took to their heels upon seeing the military personnel.
Alhaji Gazali stated that almost everyone who witnessed at the burning of the tipper trucks could not hold back their tears.
"Every single person here at the time of the military personnel's action openly shed tears like children," he stated.
They also met with some traditional rulers in the area to register their displeasure about the action of the military.
Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed, a tipper owner appealed to the Regional Minister to intervene now in order not to aggravate the already high unemployment level in the area.
FROM: YAKUBU ABDUL-MAJEED, TAMALE
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