2 Dead Bodies Recovered From Korle Lagoon

Two dead bodies have been recovered from the Korle Lagoon in Accra. They are believed to have fallen into the lagoon in their bid to escape alleged military brutality during a dawn swoop at Sodom and Gomorrah on Thursday. Residents of the slum have alleged that they were brutalised by the military, which conducted the swoop. They told JOYFM that thousands of people were rounded up during the raid while others fled across a narrow bridge spanning the Korle Lagoon and fell in the process.

Although five hardened criminals were arrested at the slum, which has been labelled as a haven for armed robbers, the manner in which the exercise was conducted has attracted public outcry. It has been alleged that one of the soldiers who took part in the operation was killed by the some of the residents but the military has denied the allegations, although one officer could not be traced at the end of the operation.

The Center for Public Interest Law (CEPIL) says its appalled by the alleged brutalities meted out to the suspects arrested in the swoop.

Busloads of heavily armed military personnel rounded up mostly male residents in the slum in what is being described as an anti- armed robbery exercise. According to eyewitnesses those arrested were brutalized without provocation and taken to military headquarters at Burma Camp in Accra.

A Human Rights Officer with CEPIL, Farouk Briamah who visited the scene of the swoop told JOY FM that residents of Sodom and Gomorrah particularly women and children are living in fear especially since this swoop comes just weeks after a similar one in which over one thousand five hundred people were rounded about.

Mr. Biramah told JOY FM that he suspects that the Accra Metropolitan Assembly had a hand in the swoop. CEPIL has filed a writ against an eviction notice to the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly to vacate the area by June 11.