Near Bloodbath As AK 47 Gun Totting Kusasi Militants Shoot Garu Police
The intervention by heavily armed military personnel prevented bloodshed in Garu in the Upper East Region as rampaging, bloodthirsty Kusasi men went on a shooting spree at the Garu Police Station.
The violent Kusasi folks, armed with clubs, machetes, AK 47 rifles and other weapons, stopped and confronted a team of counter-terrorism intelligence officers on special operations in the north on Tuesday, October 24.
The officials, travelling in a black Toyota Land Cruiser, identified themselves as security operatives on national duty. But the irate Kusasi group will have none of that as they accused officials of being allies of a Mamprusi chief.
They claimed that the special operations team were part of a purported elaborate scheme by the Mamprusis to send a rival Bawku Naba, Naa Alhaji Seidu Abagre (Kulga II), into Bawku for the celebration of the Damba Festival.
The installation of a new chief at the beginning of the year raised tension in the area, leading to security concerns as the Kusasis hold firm that Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II is the legitimate Bawku Naba.
The violent face-off continued for several minutes amidst physical threats from the Kusasi folks, who were on the verge of attacking and harming the officials.
To prevent the situation from escalating further, the team took a detour to the police station.
However, the Kusasi folks pursued them and called for more reinforcement from armed locals who converged on the Garu Police Station, where the officials had to take cover to prevent an exchange of fire, which could result in a bloodbath.
Dozens of the Kusasi men surrounded the police in a siege with sporadic gunshots, which lasted throughout the night.
The Kusasi men turned the location into a war zone with heavy shooting until about 5:30 a.m. the following day, when military reinforcements arrived to extract and escort the officials to safety.
Several properties were destroyed by the attackers, including the vehicle of the officers, which was badly damaged, with all the window glasses smashed.
The car was left with many bullet holes from the shots fired from the sophisticated guns possessed by the Kusasis.
It’s unclear the number of casualties recorded, but security has been tightened to ensure calm.
In a related development, an audio recording in the Kusaal language has since gone viral following the violent attack.
The tape captures the voice of one Moro Zabug, who swore heaven and earth to kill their targets.
The suspect further mentioned Akeem Aeiwin (Boga), Justice Jambiedu and Hon. Mutalla (Zongo Assembly Member) and threatened to deal with them ruthlessly for foiling attempts to kill the occupants of the vehicle and set it ablaze.
He called them traitors and devised plans to fish them out and deal with them without mercy.
Meanwhile, investigations have commenced as the police chase the perpetrators to bring them to book.
However, it is unclear what the next steps of the Security apparatus may be to ensure sanity over the constant attack on innocent security officials and police stations in the area.