KASOA: 9 dead, 3 injured in gun battle with police

News reaching Thinknewsonline.com indicates that some nine persons have been shot dead in a gun battle with police at Tuba Hills, a suburb of Kasoa, a community in the Central Region.

According to sources, three others have sustained various degrees of injuries.

Narrating the incident to Thinknewsonline.com, an eyewitness (Name withheld) said "We are labourers and have been working at Tuba Hills for some time now. But for some time now anytime we come to work, some men claiming to be landguards always come at us demanding for money"

"They claim to be landguards and thus we have to pay digging fees before they allow us to work. Anytime we disagree, they man-handle us"

The eyewitness added that a report was officially made to the police of which some officers were deployed to the location.

He stressed that while at work, the said landguards again approached them demanding for digging fee.

He noted that when he and colleagues refused to comply, it triggered the anger of landguards.

"After we refused to pay, their leader pulled out a gun, gave a number of warning shots till the bullets got wasted. He refilled the gun and threatened to shoot us if we fail to pay the digging fee."

"It was at this point that the heavily armed police officers came out of their hiding zones. It turned into a gun battle but the police succeeded in killing nine, injuring three"

It is emerging that the injured were sent to the hospital with police escorts while the remains of the other 9 have been deposited at the morgue.

Police in the area declined to speak only saying, they received the directive from the Headquarters.

Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith