Three soldiers and a police officer, who are part of a task-force set up to evict nomadic herdsmen in the Asante Akyem North District of the Ashanti Region, have been wounded in a shooting incident.
According to Police in the area, an unknown assailant laid ambush and shot at the security personnel, who were in the bush as part of measures to evict the nomadic herdsmen and their cattle.
The four are said to be responding to treatment at the Agogo Presbyterian Hospital.
The Agogo District Police Commander, ASP Samuel Azagu, who confirmed the shooting to Citi News, says no arrest has been made so far.
“As usual, they went to the bush on operations and an unknown assailant laid ambushed and fired at the operation team,†he noted.
Commenting on possible suspects, ASP Azagupolice said: “obviously, you can’t rule out any other person, but obviously, we’ll say it is a Fulani man.â€
He also said the police will call for reinforcements to the area to avert any possible escalation of tensions.
There was some backlash in Agogo towards the end of 2017 when cattle owners accused the District Security Council (DISEC) in the area of failing to give them prior notice before embarking on an operation to drive away their cattle from the town.
The owners claimed that the joint security task-force carrying out the operation has deliberately killed over a hundred cattle, and have sold out some to indigenes of the area.
Indigenes of Agogo and its environs for the past years have accused herdsmen of allowing their cattle to graze and destroy farmlands which are their only source of livelihood.
Some indigenes and herdsmen have died in a number of eruptions of violence related to the tensions.
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Credit:citifmonline/Ghana News