General News of Friday, 2 July 2021
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
2021-07-02
Military Officers assaulting Wa residents
• Calm has returned to the Upper West Regional capital
• Some soldiers were assaulting the residents over a missing phone
• Several victims sustained various degrees injury
There is calm in the Upper West Regional capital after some armed military officers assaulted residents over a missing mobile phone belonging to one of the officers.
The incident which has been captured in a viral video and sighted by GhanaWeb happened on Thursday, July 1.
The soldiers subjected their victims, who were mostly commercial tricycle operators, motorists and pedestrians, to severe beating and made them roll on the floor with some forced into gutters nearby.
The over 50 soldiers in a Joy News report monitored by GhanaWeb, have been identified as members of the 10 Mechanized Battalion Infantry in Wa and based at the Napogbakoee area.
The victims of the assault were rushed to the Wa municipal hospital and treated for minor injuries.
Two others, however, sustained severe injuries and were detained at the hospital.
A 29-year-old vulcanizer, Gafur Mahama was beaten to a pulp. He sustained minor bruises on his back and a fracture on his right thigh rendering him unable to walk or sit up.
The PRO of the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council was not spared, he was also brutalized by the soldiers for taking a video of the incident, but was later rushed to the hospital.
The brutality from the soldiers came to a halt after some police officers rushed to the scene and pleaded with soldiers to return to the barracks.
Meanwhile, the Police CID has been tasked to liaise with the military to investigate the issue.
Watch how the residents were assaulted in the video below.