Ghana Armed Forces dismisses claims of withdrawing personnel from Mepe
Ghana Armed Forces dismisses claims of withdrawing personnel from Mepe
The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) have denied allegations that it has withdrawn personnel from Mepe in the Volta region and other communities affected by the Akosombo Dam spillage. The rebuttal of these allegations was done in a statement issued by the Department of Public Relations of the Ghana Armed Forceson Sunday, October 22, 2023.
This follows several statements and videos circulating in the social media spaces claiming the Ghana Armed Forces have received orders from superiors to with draw from Mepe and its environs. In one of these videos, personnel from the Armed Forces are seen packing canoes used to deliver relief items to victims into a truck. Hon. Okudjeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu (one of the affected areas), appeared in the video. According to him, the military personnel told him they had received an “order from above” to withdraw operations from the area.
Watch Video
https://boatengameyaw1.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/okudzeto.mp4
However, Ghana Armed Forces, have since debunked this claim.
“The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) wishes to debunk some media reports and series of social media posts especially on Twitter (X), claiming that military personnel deployed to Mepe in Volta Region for Humanitarian Relief Operations following the spillage of the Akosombo Dam, have been withdrawn. GAF wishes to categorically state that the information in circulation is inaccurate and that the personnel have not been given any ‘orders from above’ to withdraw from Mepe or any other community affected by the spillage contrary to the social media posts.”
According to the Ghana Armed Forces, its operations are being executed in phases. It added that some of the personnel in Mepe are being deployed to other affected areas since the situation in Mepe have been brought under control.
“it must be emphasised that the Humanitarian Relief Operations (Operation Boafo), being conducted by the Ghana Navy’s Riverine Command and the 48 Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Army is being executed in phases. As of 22 October 2023, the situation in Mepe has been brought under considerable control and therefore it became necessary to urgently redeploy some personnel and equipment to other distressed communities around Battor and its environs, which were in dire need of support,” the GAF added.
