GAF will pay dearly for burning trucks – Ras Mubarak

The Member of Parliament for Kumbungu in the Northern region, Ras Mubarak has vowed to take on military personnel that stormed the district to destroy some 14 tipper trucks and an excavator following a crackdown on illegal sand miners along the White River at Nawuni near Kumbungu in the Northern Region.

The rage by the military follows an earlier warning by the Northern regional Security Council(REGSEC).

The Kumbungu lawmaker who described the incident as savagery, has said he’ll leave no stone unturned to get compensation for the affected persons.

“You don’t solve an illegal problem by committing an illegality. They are going to get this country into serious legal issues that might culminate into compensations and judgment debt. We will ensure that those people whose properties were burned down get justice. We would ensure that the necessary legal remedies are undertaken, so that people get justice.” he stated in an interview with Accra-based Joy FM.

Armed infantries of the Sixth Battalion deployed from their military base in Kamina Barracks in Tamale, Saturday, March 3, carried out a combative operation to intensify a crackdown on illegal sand winning activities in the area.

According to reports, dozens of heavy sand mining machines including about fourteen (14) tipper trucks and an excavator were burnt by the soldiers who stormed the area by trucks.

The illegal miners fled the area before the armed forces arrived, thus no arrest was made.

Some residents and miners who saw the soldiers advancing towards the mining site said they counted about three military trucks loaded with heavily armed soldiers.

One of the trucks was carrying a canoe, a panicked resident of Dalun, a village along the path to the river told Kasapa News.

The unregulated operation by the miners have polluted the water source, caused deep environmental damages, pushed farmers away from farmlands and forced fishmongers to hang their nets.

Despite several efforts by the Regional Security Council, the activity persisted until management of the Ghana Water Company engaged national security personnel to combat the activity.