Defence committee in parliament sympathises with GAF, residents over Ashaiman incident

The Chairman of the Defense Committee of Parliament has expressed sympathy to the family of the young soldier who was killed in Ashaiman, which led to the brutalisation of some residents in Accra on March 7.

According to Kennedy Agyapong, he admits there were some excesses and would want to apologise for the actions.

Speaking in an interview, he said the Minister of Defense, Dominic Nitiwul, has apologised on behalf of the military for their actions, as innocent citizens were affected by their actions.

"On behalf of the committee, we want to sympathise with the bereaved, the young solder's family, and the affected victims, those who were innocently beaten; they were not part of it, but unfortunately, they got to a scene where they [were] not supposed to be. Some of them were in their various homes, and they knocked, and they came out and they beat them; I think we have to admit as human beings that there were excesses, and therefore, we sympathise with the people of Ashaiman. At the same time, we also sympathise with the Armed Forces for our young men taking the law into their own hands to kill one of their own.

"…The minister has even apologised on behalf of the military; they admit that they have excesses.

He said the committee would not make statements on the floor of parliament until they had visited the scene to get first-hand information about what happened in the area next week Thursday.

The military invaded Ashaiman, brutalising innocent residents after the murder of a young soldier by the name of Sherif Imoro on Saturday morning.

The incident happened on the dawn of Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the Official Town in Ashaiman during a heavy downpour.

Reports indicate that residents have been forced to stay in their rooms until there is calm.

YNA/BOG