‘The soldiers are not there to beg’ – Dep. Minister justifies military siege in Dome Faase

The Deputy Minister of Defence, Major (RTD) Derek Oduro has justified a military show of force and aggression at Dome Faase, a community where two uniformed men were brutally assaulted.

While official sources are tight-lipped, reports suggests that at least 300 armed soldiers were dispatched to the town where the assault happened.

The Deputy Minister said the soldiers were in the town to arrest perpetrators of the brutal assault and will do so with force.

“Some two [soldiers] were almost killed. Some people almost lost their lives and you go in there and kneel down before the perpetrators and say I beg you come, I want to find out whether you’re part?

“They go there and they know who is to be arrested. They have arrested a number of people. They didn’t go there to go and kneel down in front of the perpetrators. No! They move in with force to go and arrest criminals. So you don’t expect that people who have gone there to effect arrest will go the way you think they should.

“If you don’t know, they’re there to effect the arrest of those who perpetrated that act,” he told Accra-based Starr FM.

Two soldiers who were on official duty guarding a parcel of land in the area were brutally assaulted by residents of Dome Faase, a community near Kasoa last Tuesday.

They inflicted machete wounds, tore the uniforms of the military men apart, and burnt at least four cars belonging to the military.

Dome Faase Chief apologizes for assault

The Mankralo of the Obom traditional area, Nii Addo has apologized on behalf of the residents over the assault on two soldiers.

The residents, mostly the youth, fled the town to seek cover elsewhere over fears of possible reprisal.

Speaking on Accra-based Peace FM, the Chief, Nii Addo, begged the Military High Command and the Chief of Defence Staff to tamper justice with mercy.

“We shouldn’t have burnt vehicles belonging to the military. We shouldn’t have assaulted the soldiers. We could’ve dealt with the issue in a better way rather than violence. I don’t endorse the actions of the youth in my area.

“But I’m on my knees begging for forgiveness. Please forgive us,” he said in a sober tone while speaking Twi, a local Ghanaian language.

He revealed that the entire Dome Faase township had been deserted.

Nii Addo said almost all the residents, including himself, had escaped to other parts of the country for fear of their lives.

“It is very true, many people have absconded. Even I am in hiding. You can’t find me if you look for me. I’m afraid of the military. They don’t know if you’re a child or an adult. We can only appeal to President Akufo-Addo to intervene.”

Responding to reports that the military was in the area to retrieve two guns which the residents seized from the assaulted soldiers, the Chief expressed his readiness to come out of his hiding place and assist the search for the ammunition only if he will be given protection.