Two men were reported dead and three injured when some Kplejoo groups clashed with the Navy at Tema Newtown during the final procession of the Kplejoo festival.
The Ghana News Agency (GNA) reports that as part of the festival, the groups on the evening of last Friday, went on their usual annual procession throughout the streets of Tema Newtown.
The groups, who were allegedly stopped from using the street in front of the Eastern Naval Base, defied the orders of the Navy and took that route.
This, according to the GNA, led to a clash between the Navy and the groups, in which some members of the youth groups started throwing bottles, and the Navy responded with some gunshots.
The shooting led to the deaths of the two, whose bodies have been deposited at the mortuary, while the three are on admission at the Tema General Hospital.
Mr Adjei Tetteh, one of the injured victims, told the GNA at his bedside that he was part of the Asafo group and was in charge of the barrier mounted at the Tema Newtown bridge area.
He said per instructions, they were supposed to send the metal barricades to the Naval Base junction when it was 8pm so that those going towards community one could easily get transported without any problem.
He indicated that upon reaching the junction, he heard some gunshots from afar, as the Navy personnel were preventing people from using the road in front of their base, adding that the gunshots became intense, so he decided to run away, only for him to realise that his feet had become stiff with blood oozing out of it.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has cautioned the Tema youth not to carry out further attacks on installations or personnel as that would be met with the appropriate response.
It said the Ghana Police Service, in collaboration with the GAF, had commenced investigations into the attack by some Tema Newtown youths.
The Director General of Public Relations of the GAF, Brigadier General Eric Aggrey-Quarshie, said in a statement at the weekend that "findings of the investigations will be made available in due course as the GAF commiserates with the bereaved families and calls for calm from all parties while the incident is being investigated."
"A vehicle belonging to the Eastern Naval Command of the Ghana Navy was attacked by a crowd partaking in an ongoing festival at Tema Newtown at 7:53pm on Friday, leading to the damage of the vehicle," the statement explained.
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It said three of the naval personnel onboard the vehicle also sustained severe injuries and were sent to the Tema Naval Base Medical Centre for treatment.
It added that in the course of the confrontation, three suspects were arrested by the naval personnel and were subsequently handed over to the Tema Newtown District Police for further investigations.
It further explained that the mob, suspected to be part of the participants in the festivities, later attacked the Tema Naval Base with stones and other implements to release their colleagues.
"At a stage, the security of the Base was threatened, and to protect the sensitive installations in the Base, warning shots were fired to repel the attack. It was later reported by the police that two civilians were brought to the Tema General Hospital dead. The cause of death is yet to be ascertained," the statement said.
It added that "again, on Saturday, April 13, 2024, the mob attacked the Tema Naval Base and the Naval Barracks at Tema Newtown (Biekro Barracks), leading to the destruction of property."
