The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has launched a series of strategic anti-galamsey operations across the Northern, Central, and Southern Commands in a renewed effort to combat illegal mining activities within protected areas.
Dubbed “surgical operations,” these missions are designed to effectively dismantle galamsey operations while minimising collateral damage.
The move forms part of a
broader national initiative to protect the environment and preserve critical water bodies.
According to the Minister for Defense, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, the operations were carefully synchronised to take place simultaneously across the three commands.
In the Northern Command, troops were deployed to Bole and the Black Volta Basin areas recently hit by a surge in illegal mining.
The military dismantled mining camps and confiscated equipment used by illegal miners, aiming to curb the pollution of key water sources and protect farmlands under threat.
In the Central Command, operations were concentrated within the Nkawie and Mankranso Forest Reserves.
The Southern Command focused on the Jerusalem enclave and the Subri Forest Reserve.
Dr. Omane Boamah confirmed these developments in a Facebook post, emphasizing the government’s commitment to tackling the galamsey menace head-on while protecting Ghana’s natural resources.
“A number of excavators and related equipment were seized. Shelters of illegal miners in forest reserves…,” he wrote.
