The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has reported the deaths of seven illegal miners and one critically injured individual following a violent clash between illegal miners and military personnel stationed at the AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) Obuasi Mine.
The confrontation, which occurred on January 19 in Obuasi, Ashanti Region, escalated tensions in the area, with four vehicles set ablaze during the incident.
In a statement released the same day, GAF stated that its troops acted in self-defence after being fired upon by illegal miners while attempting to prevent them from accessing the Deep Decline of the mine.
According to GAF, the illegal miners were armed with an assortment of weapons, including locally manufactured rifles, pump-action guns, gas cylinders, knives, heavy-duty industrial bolt cutters, axes, and machetes. "The troops returned fire in self-defence.
