The Leader of Obuasi Bissa Youth, Zakari Adams Zampuu, and another Bissa member, Abdul Karim, were among eleven individuals killed during a military crackdown on small-scale miners at the AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) mine.
The fatal incident occurred during an overnight raid at the mining facility, where military personnel stationed to provide security fired at a group of small-scale miners who had visited the abandoned site to appeal for permission to mine.
Zampuu and Karim were confirmed among the casualties in what has become one of the deadliest mining-related incidents in recent times.
According to eyewitnesses, the confrontation began around midnight when a group of small-scale miners approached the mining site to appeal for permission to mine, citing that AngloGold had abandoned the area. The situation rapidly escalated into gunfire after miners had gathered in protest while their leaders knelt, begging the military personnel guarding the facility for access.
The deaths of the two Bissa community members have sent shockwaves through the local population, particularly affecting the tight-knit Bissa community in Obuasi. Their deaths were part of a larger toll that saw eleven people losing their lives in the confrontation.
In the aftermath of the shootout, several others sustained injuries and were rushed to both the Obuasi Government Hospital and the AGA Hospital for urgent medical attention. The incident has sparked unrest in the area, with community members taking to the streets in protest. Four vehicles, including buses, were set ablaze during the ensuing chaos, and demonstrators burned tires on several streets.
The situation remains tense in Obuasi as authorities work to restore calm while investigating the circumstances that led to this deadly confrontation. The loss of Zampuu, a respected youth leader, and Karim has particularly highlighted the human cost of ongoing tensions between small-scale miners and mine security forces in the region.
Local authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, including the events that triggered the fatal confrontation and the subsequent deaths of the eleven individuals, including the two prominent Bissa community members.