MAYHEM AT ASHAIMAN...2 Dead, many injured (LEAD STORY)

STORY: Rose Hayford Darko, Ashaiman

A SEVEN-HOUR stand-off between the police at Ashaiman and irate drivers (whose ranks were later infiltrated by hooligans) yesterday turned into a bloody affair, with two persons confirmed dead and dozens injured.
With the bodies of the dead and blood scattered on the main street, Ashaiman, for the greater part of the day, looked like a war zone until nature intervened with a heavy downpour to wash away the blood and disperse the crowd.
It started as a misunderstanding between the drivers and the Ashaiman Police at 6.00 a.m. following the arrest on Monday of two drivers for wrongful parking. But the situation degenerated into a bloodbath when the stone-throwing mob was met with police gunfire.
Those who dropped dead from the police shooting were a driver in his late 20s, identified only as Alhaji, and a nine-year-old boy who was trapped in the commotion while selling sachet water.
There were unconfirmed reports that another person had died in hospital.
In the confusion, all roads leading to the town were blocked and lorry tyres were set ablaze in the middle of the roads.
Police vehicles and private cars belonging to individuals were smashed by the angry mob, leaving some beyond repairs.
There was looting as newspaper vendors and other traders had to run for their lives after their wares had been taken away by the stone-throwing mob.
An eyewitness, Mr Emmanuel Amoako, said about 5.00 p.m. on Monday, the police arrested 17 drivers for wrongful parking around the main Ashaiman lorry park.
He said about 5.00 a.m. yesterday morning, members of the Ashaiman Branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union went to the police station to plead for the release of the suspects but before any decision could be made, some unidentified people started throwing stones and sachet water into the compound of the police station.
Mr Amoako said as a result of the intensity of the action of the people, the police responded with the shooting of rubber bullets to disperse them.
He said a policeman had been hit on the forehead by a stone, seriously getting injured, while the nine-year-old boy who was also hit by a bullet died instantly because of the stampede.
He said the deceased driver, who also died instantly, had been hit by a stray bullet from behind. The injured were rushed to the Tema General Hospital for attention.
When the Daily Graphic reached the Ashaiman Divisional MTTU Commander, ASP Timothy Dassah, on telephone, he said he had taken refuge “somewhere” while waiting for reinforcement to handle the situation.
He said his men had been stoned and several of them were seriously injured but claimed that they were still under attack.
ASP Dassah said the Ashaiman MTTU towed five Urvan and 207 buses when the drivers took over the road around the main lorry park.
He said policemen from Tema and some soldiers from Michel Camp had gone to their aid but they had not been sufficient for the intensity of the situation.
The Tema Regional Crime Officer, Chief Superintendent Joshua Dogbeda, confirmed that the situation was under control.
He said officially the police knew of two deaths in the incident.
Chief Supt Dogbeda said the police were in the process of finding out from various health posts to ascertain the number of injured persons and whether there had been any other death during the riot.