Traders in Agbogbloshie market dissatisfied with the use of tear gas and warning shots to stop the violence

Some traders in Agbogbloshie market expressed disappointment at tear gas and warning shots by the joint security task force dispatched to quell an outburst in the region Thursday morning.

Talk to JoyNews, some traders said they were disappointed with the methodology adopted by security personnel indicating that it could have turned deadly.

For others, the police action left them scared and stranded.

They therefore called on the government to intervene and ask the police not to evacuate them since the market is the only place where they can make ends meet.

“Firing tear gas was a huge mistake on the part of the police. It is a very busy place, they could have hurt someone with it and the gas has health consequences. If they [police] want everything to be peaceful, they should have peaceful relations with us, ”said a trader JoyNews.

Another added: “That rubber ball landed right next to me. I could have died. [President] Akufo-Addo, we beg you to speak to the police. Don’t disappoint us because we voted for you.

“What did the police seek to accomplish by firing tear gas?” Did they want to kill us? A trader questioned.

But the operation commander, DSP Kwesi Ofori, said JoyNews that the crowd control strategies implemented were made necessary by certain “criminal elements” who attempted to disrupt normal affairs in the region.

He said the joint security task force was sent to the market to ensure peace and protect traders and their property from thieves.

“The market women have fully cooperated and they are not even here now, because they are even settling in Adjen Kotoku. But these are criminal elements who want to take advantage of the situation to spoil the operation, ”he declared. JoyNews’ Manuel Koranteng.

Today is the deadline that Henry Quartey, the regional minister of Greater Accra, gave to onion traders to leave the Agbogbloshie market after more than 20 years of working there.

Onion sellers are to move from Agbogbloshie Market to Adjen Kotoku Market Square.

This is part of the minister’s decongestion exercise called “Let’s Make Accra Work”.

Traders protested against the directive, saying the new room is too small and therefore cannot accommodate all of them.

There are reports that some aggrieved people destroyed a New Patriotic Party (NPP) office in the area and burned truck tires in protest. The joint security task force then moved in.