Forestry Commission to deploy armed guards
The Forestry Commission (FC) is to deploy more members of its armed wing, known as the Rapid Response Unit (RRU), in forest reserves to complement the efforts of the military/police task forces in combating the threat posed by illegal chainsaw operators and galamsey operators.
The Director of Operations of the Forest Services Division (FSD) of the commission, Mr Alex Boadu, who disclosed this in an interview inside the Afram headwaters forest reserve, near Abofour in the Ashanti Region, where a forest guard was killed last week by suspected illegal chain saw operators, said the commission was concerned about the persistent attacks on its field staff, especially forest guards and was bent on stopping the development.
A team made up of forestry officials and security personnel visited the spot where the 56-year-old forest guard was killed.
In recent times, forest guards had come under attacks from chainsaw operators and illegal miners in parts of the country, especially the Ashanti and Western regions.
The Ashanti Region alone had recorded five cases of physical attacks on forests guards, one of which led to the death of a 65-year-old forest guard at Abofou, near Offinso last Thursday.
The forest guards, who are not usually armed, become helpless when under siege and they either allowed the illegal operators to do their work or risk injuries or death.
It was against this backdrop that the FC decided to send more members of its armed unit to help protect the lives of its field officers and forest resources.
Mr Boadu said the management of FSD would do everything possible to protect its staff.
He stated that they were discussing with the police and military leaderships on how to intensify the patrols in the forest reserves.
He urged the staff not to be deterred by the attacks but work to the best of their ability, assuring “We shall give you the necessary protection.”
The Ashanti Regional Manager of the FSD, Mr Joseph Boakye, condemned the attacks, pointing out that human lives were more important than the timber the illegal operators were looking for.
He mentioned Mampong, Bekwai, Offinso and Kumawu as some of the areas where forest guards had been attacked this year.
Story: Kwame Asare Boadu
