One killed in bloody clashes between timber workers and Forestry Commission staff
A confrontation between Forestry Commission staff and traders at the Akim Oda Timber Market in the Eastern Region allegedly resulted in the death of one person.
This has heightened tension in the area.
Staff of the Forestry Commission have reportedly evacuated from their offices, following reports that the timber market workers are massing up to attack them.
Officers from the Akim Oda Divisional Police Command have been deployed to the area to pacify the situation and ease tensions.
Meanwhile, it is unclear what triggered the clash between the two parties.
Over the past year, the commission staff has been involved in several confrontations resulting in fatalities and injuries.
The victim, who was with the Rapid Response Unit (RRU), was shot in the head and back.
According to a statement by the commission, John Baba Konlan was shot during an operation to apprehend the illegal miners.
The statement said a nine-member team made up of the RRU and forest guards from the Takoradi Forest District Office was deployed after they got information that some illegal miners were operating at a portion of the forest reserve.
Upon arrival, the team split up into three groups to search for the alleged mining site.
After an hour of searching, they spotted the miners engaged in what is known as ‘dig and wash’.
However, the suspects started shooting at the team members when they attempted to arrest them.
In November 2023, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources set up a committee to probe the killing of two brothers at a mining site at Mfante near Tepa in the Ashanti region by some workers of the commission.
The victims, Abdul Samed Razak, 35, and Hashmil Usman, 25, were allegedly shot dead by a security task force of the Forestry Commission on November 11, 2023, during a confrontation.