A group of armed men on Tuesday night
reportedly attacked some residents of Kumasi as they seized some streets in the
metropolis amidst sporadic shootings.
Numbering between 30 and 50, the half-naked
gunmen on motorbikes reportedly fired several warning shots using AK-47 and pump
action guns as they laid siege on helpless residents.
The
Hollywood-style action left many vehicles damaged as motorists crashed
into each other while attempting to escape the onslaught which took
place at about 7 p.m.
The incident occurred mainly between the
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology [Tech] and Anloga
Junction road on the main Kumasi-Accra road.
Eye-witnesses
believed the robbers were reacting to recent police raids on suspected
criminals hiding at the Affordable Housing Project Site at Asokore
Mampong.
Many people, including a nurse got injured as they fled the attack.
Traumatized,
a resident named Maame Birago told Nhyira FM, a radio station in Kumasi
that she nearly collapsed upon seeing the armed men.
“I
was going to the salon to re-touch my hair [and] all of a sudden I
heard gun shots and a lot of people are running…They were many, some of
them were wearing boxer shorts and other things so I also decided to run
for my life and that of my child.
"I nearly collapsed. I even fell on the floor so I just got up and run for my life,” Birago narrated.
An unidentified student of the Ghana National Academy also described the incident as “horrifying”.
“They
were not using magazine made (locally manufactured guns). The sounds of those weapons was
different from that of those manufactured locally because I have seen
local pistols before,” he recounted.
Meanwhile the Ashanti
Regional Police Command say they have arrested over 100 suspected
criminals in the past few weeks with reinforcement from Accra.
Regional
Commander, DCOP Augustine Gyening in an interview with Nhyira Fm,
strongly suspected Tuesday's attack was to divert the attention of
police and weaken their resolve to clear the region of miscreants.
source: Myjoyonline
