More Details Emerge from Kyebi Zongo Extra Gold Military shooting incident as Youth Accuse Soldiers of Taking GH¢80,000 More details are emerging in the military operation sanctioned by Extra Gold mining company to remove illegal miners from a concession at Kyebi Zongo in the Abuakwa South Municipality of the Eastern Region which ended in violence on Saturday, July 11, leaving one man with a gunshot wound and another injured. The operation, involved armed military personnel who were reportedly deployed by Extra Gold Mining Company to drive illegal miners from its concession. Witnesses said the soldiers arrived in the area accompanied by a tipper truck, allegedly to confiscate gold-bearing materials that had been gathered by local miners. The move was resisted by some youth, who insisted the land had already been earmarked for a community cooperative mining project whose approval process was at an advanced stage. As tensions mounted, the Municipal Chief Executive for Abuakwa South and the Kyebi Zongo Chief reportedly intervened in an attempt to calm the situation. According to residents, the two leaders appealed to the military not to remove the gold-bearing materials while efforts were made to resolve the dispute peacefully. However, the youth allege that the situation deteriorated after some of the soldiers threatened to open fire if they failed to disperse. In response, some of the agitated youth allegedly began throwing stones at the tipper truck accompanying the military. During the ensuing confrontation, gunshots were fired. Forty-one-year-old Sumaila Ibrahim, popularly known as Agono, was shot in the leg. He was rushed to the Kibi Government Hospital, where he underwent surgery and is receiving treatment at the hospital's VIP Emergency Ward. Another person sustained minor injuries and remains on admission at the hospital's male ward. Leaders of the Kyebi Zongo Youth maintain that Mr Ibrahim was not among those confronting the soldiers. They say he was instead part of a group of community leaders trying to calm the agitated crowd when he was shot after allegedly crossing a warning line drawn by the military. The youth have also made a separate allegation that, before the operation, the military demanded GH¢100,000 to allow their mining activities to continue. They claim they managed to raise and pay GH¢80,000, but the operation was carried out regardless. The allegation has not been independently verified. Neither the Ghana Armed Forces nor Extra Gold Mining Company has publicly responded to the bribery allegations or the circumstances surrounding the shooting. The Kibi District Police Command has begun investigations into the incident and is expected to determine the circumstances leading to the shooting as well as the claims made by the youth. #mining #NewsAlert - @easterntv75