At least one people have been killed in Ghana’s Volta region where some individuals belonging to a secessionist group blocked major roads.
Soldiers on Friday reportedly stormed a community called Juapong where one of the road blocks was mounted as they raid homes.
Eyewitnesses say soldiers raid homes, arresting anyone they suspect of belonging to the separatist group and might have taken part in the road block.
The soldiers allegedly beat up those arrested and parade them on the roadside as the community continues to be characterized by chaos.
Residents say at least two people who were shot by the soldiers have died including a coconut seller identified just as Emmanuel.
But the police said only one person was killed in an exchange of gunfire between security agencies and the secessionists.
Those killed and injured were said to have been caught up in the raid and standoff between the secessionists and the solders.
Earlier in the day members of the “Homeland Study Group Foundation” blocked major entries into the Volta region.
Motorists travelling to areas like Tefle, Tsopoli and Juapong were left stranded amid the chaos.
Members of the group were said to be wielding guns and sticks and chanting war songs during the blockade.
Police stations attacked
They are also reported to have attacked two police posts in the region – Aveyime and Mepe Police Stations in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region.
During that attack the members reportedly stripped officers naked, broke into their armoury and seized their guns.
Police and soldiers were deployed to the region to restore order as Ghanaian officials struggle to stop the activities of this separatist group that has gained prominent in recent years.
The group has been agitating for years about unfair treatment in Ghana. Its members reside in Ghana’s Volta region previously the British Togoland.
Aggrieved residents of this territory claim the processes that led to their merger with the then Gold Coast now Ghana were flawed.
They also claim that the Volta region lacked needed development hence the need to be an independent country on its own.
Leaders of the group declared independence for the territory on November 16, 2019 calling it the “Western Togoland”.
Some of its members have been arrested and are facing prosecution in the capital, Accra.
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Source: Africafeeds.com
