A Ghanaian small-scale miners’ association has alleged that soldiers killed nine unarmed individuals at an AngloGold Ashanti mine on Saturday night. Meanwhile, Ghana’s army reported that seven illegal miners were killed during a firefight at the same location.
Kofi Adams, the local chairman of the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners, told Reuters that the incident occurred at the Obuasi gold mining site in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. According to Adams, nine people lost their lives, and 14 others sustained severe injuries, claiming that the victims were unarmed.
Earlier, the Ghana Armed Forces stated that around 60 illegal miners, armed with locally manufactured rifles and other weapons, breached the mine’s security fence at approximately 11:00 p.m. (2300 GMT) on Saturday. The military claimed the group fired on a patrol unit, triggering a shootout.
“This is unprecedented (and) it’s difficult to understand why this happened,” Adams said. He noted that in previous incidents, trespassers were typically deterred by warning shots rather than fatal force.
Ghana’s President, John Dramani Mahama, has ordered an immediate investigation into what the presidency described as a “tragic” incident. In a statement issued on Sunday, the government directed AngloGold Ashanti to bear the medical expenses of the injured and cover burial costs for the deceased.
AngloGold Ashanti has not yet commented on the incident. The company, listed in Johannesburg, operates the Iduapriem and Obuasi mines in southern Ghana. Last year, these mines produced over 490,000 ounces of gold.
