Kumasi, July 20, GNA – Youth groups in the
Asokore-Mampong Municipality are continuing their protests against the police
over what they described as the gruesome killing of their colleagues in the
Amansie-West District.
The rampaging youth, who have run rowdy since
Tuesday, following the killings, still maintains that those shot and killed by
the police were not armed robbers as the police wants the public to believe,
besieged the precincts of the Kumasi Central Mosque, burning tires and chanting
war songs on the streets.
They believe that the police are not being
truthful about the incident, accusing them of covering up the killing of
innocent people, who are members of their community.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that the police
had to fire tear gas on the protestors but they fiercely resisted, forcing the
police and other security forces to retreat.
As at the time of filing this report, the
leadership and chiefs of the Zongo community, who were said to be locked up in
a crunch meeting over the issue, had also fled the scene.
The youth, demanding answers from their
leaders and the police on the “brutal killing” of their colleagues have vowed
they would not stop the protest until the truth came out.
The protestors were said to have attacked the
Asawase police station and the Manhyia government Hospital on Thursday. There
were however no casualties.
No one has yet been arrested as at now.
It is not known when the protest, which
started on Tuesday in Asawase will stop but security forces have been placed in
vantage points to prevent destruction to lives and property.
The Ashanti Regional police on Tuesday shot
and killed seven men suspected to be armed robbers, who had earlier attacked
passengers on the Manso-Nkwanta – Kumasi road.
The attack resulted in the death of a police
officer who was in the vehicle, while other passengers sustained various
degrees of injuries.
The police in an attempt to arrest the
culprits, mounted intensive search in the area, resulting in the killing of the
seven suspects who were said to have ignored warnings by the police to stop at
a check-point.
According to the police, the suspects engaged
the police in a gun battle during which they were caught in the cross fire.
GNA