Amansie West: Police arrest 4 illegal Chinese miners following clashes with residents

The Ashanti Regional Police Command has arrested four illegal Chinese miners at Nsiana in the Amansie West District.

The arrest followed a confrontation the galamsey operators had with the locals, early Thursday.

Residents of Nsiana who were aggrieved about the operation of the illegal miners, whose activities have destroyed the town's only source of water from River Subin, as well as destroyed their vast farm lands, confronted the miners who opened fire at them.

After Thursday's morning confrontation, a police re-enforcement was needed to calm the situation down where the arrest of the Chinese miners was made.

The miners, according to the Paramount Chief of the area, Wirempehene, Nana Opia Mensah have not been granted any permit to engage in small scale mining in the area.

Speaking to the Joy FM, the Paramount chief stated that they would be petitioning the security agencies and the government to help flush out the illegal miners entirely from the area.

The activities of the illegal miners pose a serious threat to the UN Millenium Village Project for the aleviation of poverty in the District.

According to Joy Fm's Elton John Brobbey who visited the District, the galamsey operations have devastated the area with vast farmlands, while some school compounds have also been encroached upon by the illegal miners.

The District Chief Executive of Amansie West, Oti Prempeh said there was the need to employ a human face in the way the illegal miners were handled.

The DCE said there would be a stakeholders meeting between the Chiefs, Police, residents of the area, and the illegal miners to determine how the matter could be resolved amicably.

The DCE however warned that confronting the miners is not the best solution and the residents should desist from that.