Soldiers arrest 72 Ashaiman residents over colleague’s death, MP cries for help

Reports say no fewer than 72 residents of Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region have been arrested and taken away by military men over the death of a colleague.

The military men suspected that the arrested persons might have answers to questions about the murder of the murdered officer.

Citinewsroom.com reports the Member of Parliament for the Ashaiman constituency, Ernest Dogbey as saying that the number of his constituents arrested by the soldiers would exceed 72.

“I know the men (military men) are coming from Michel Camp. I have called the head there but his line is unreachable, 3news.com quotes the lawmaker as saying in an earlier interview.

It remains unclear which military barracks the suspects have been taken to and what form of treatment is being meted out to them.

On the morning of Tuesday, March 7, a group of soldiers stormed Ashaiman and brutalized some residents in the name of searching for the killers of their colleague.

Videos of the incident making the rounds on social media show some of the victims left with bloody wounds and marks on their bodies.

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“The soldiers are on the street and preventing everyone from stepping out. I should have left for work by now, but I can’t even step out,” a witness told Accra-based Citi News.

Another witness recounted how the angry-looking soldiers targeted young men and unleashed their wrath on them, leaving everyone in fear.

“We gathered that a military man was killed, a young man, I don’t know what led to his death, but some military men have come to the area and nobody can go out. They knock on your door and once you step out you will receive slaps.

“It is very dangerous and everybody is scared to go out…they are using their boots, and hands to attack anyone they see. If you are a young man they just attack you and if you are a woman and dressed in a certain way you become a suspect to them,” citinewsroom.com quotes the witness as saying.

The 22-year-old soldier with the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) band in Sunyani in the Bono Region whose death the soldiers are reported to be avenging was reportedly stabbed to death by unknown attackers Saturday dawn.

He was reportedly returning from his girlfriend’s house in Taifa and heading towards his residence at Zongo-Laka in Ashaiman he met his untimely death.

Though he was carrying a laptop and other electronic gadgets the attackers made away with only his iPhone.

Meanwhile, police have launched an investigation into his death and are appealing to the residents of Ashaiman for information to arrest the perpetrators of the heinous crime.

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