The Upper East Regional Peace Council and the Catholic Diocese of Bolgatanga-Navrongo have condemned the brutal attack against the people of Garu and Tempane by the military.
A joint statement from the Peace Council and the Catholic Diocese expressed surprise about the horrible incidents within the area which forced them to express grave concerns.
Reports indicate that the townspeople, wielding weapons including guns, chased five national security personnel to the police station and besieged them.
The military thus launched a reprisal attack on Sunday, October 29, which led to several of the townspeople getting injured.
According to the military their raid on the towns was to retrieve the weapons and arrest the perpetrators.
However, the Upper East Peace Council and the Catholic Diocese of Bolgatanga-Navrongo were concerned that the action of the military has created fear and panic among the people in the area.
They also feared that the military action if not properly handled will pose a threat to the several years of cooperation enjoyed between residents and security personnel in countering violent extremism in the area.
“These recent brutalities in Garu by the military have the grave potential of defeating the much needed collaboration and mutual trust between the security personnel and the citizenry in dealing with the violent extremism that is knocking on our borders,” their joint statement read.
The group added that “in the light of the lack of clarity on what actually happened, we call on the government to initiate an independent investigation into the incidents involving the National Intelligence personnel and the youth of Garu.”
Furthermore, the group called on the Ministry of National Security and the Ghana Armed Forces to ensure that their approach to restore security and peace has more professional touch and not the use of brutal force, so that in the course of their work the dignity of human person is always respected.