A clash between residents of Tontokrom community in the Amansie South District of the Ashanti region and Private Security Forces assigned to safeguard the Asanko Gold Mines has resulted in the death of three persons.
A resident was allegedly shot dead during a confrontation with the private security operatives on Saturday, March 2.
This angered the youth who launched an attack and lynched two of the alleged attackers.
In details of this, a resident said;
“We saw two branded Asanko Mines vehicles and four non-branded ones occupied by machomen in the community.
Some of the youth went closer to the vehicles to hoot at the occupants and before we realised the ‘machomen’ had started firing gunshots. One person was hit by a stray bullet and died on the spot.
“We were left with no choice but to also attack them. The vehicles sped off but two ‘machomen’ fell on the ground. They were lynched.”
The confrontation comes on the back of long-standing tensions between Tontokrom residents and Asanko Gold Mines over the latter’s concession security measures.
For years, the local youth, driven by uncontrolled unemployment, have turned to illegal mining activities, which have intruded on some edges of Asanko’s legitimate lands.
However, allegations of excessive force by military personnel and hired security to repel these incursions have worsened the situation.
Subsequently, the residents on Friday, March 1, 2024, staged a protest to demand the establishment of a Community Mining Scheme to end the banter.
The confrontation on Saturday, however, turned bloody between the residents and the private security personnel of Asanko Mines.
The bodies have since been conveyed by the police and deposited at the morgue.
Meanwhile, the District Security Council has scheduled a meeting with community leaders and Asanko Gold to outline measures to resolve the situation.