Arise Ghana Demonstration: Chaos Breaks Out As Police Fire Tear Gas At Protesters

• Police have fired tear gas into protesters at Kwame Nkrumah Circle as the Arise Ghana demonstrations progress
• It is not clear why police fired the tear gas but videos show protesters throwing back the canisters into a group of officers
• Reports indicate there is an uneasy calm at the protest grounds as the demonstrators seem to be facing off with the Police officers

Multiple reports say chaos erupted at the Arise Ghana demonstration after Police fired tear gas at protesters on Tuesday afternoon.

An avid user of Twitter, @CalebAhinakwah, has posted a short video that captures the incident at the Kwame Nkrumah circle.

In the video, a protester could be seen throwing a tear gas canister back into a group of police officers who had formed a barricade.

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He captioned the video:

"Chaos ensues on 'Arise Ghana' Demonstration protest grounds..." but did not give details about what caused the Police to fire the tear gas.

Joy News reports an uneasy calm at the protest grounds as the demonstrators seem to be facing off with the Police officers.

Asaase Radio also shared this longer video of the chaos:

Meanwhile, two persons have been reportedly picked up by the Police following the incident.

In a related story, Accra-based 3News has reported that police fired shots at some demonstrators who were allgedly pelting stones at security personnel.

A reporter on the grounds gave the following update:

“The police are still firing as individuals are still throwing stones at the Police. They are insisting on using the Ring Road through to the Presidency and the Police are refusing to allow them to do that which has resulted in the firing of tear gas and the use of water canon against the demonstrators. That is the current situation at the Obra spot in Accra."

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Police have also tweeted that some of their personnel have been wounded following attacks on them by the demonstrators.

"Attack on Police in the Ongoing Arise Ghana Demonstration This behaviour is unacceptable and must be condemned," police tweeted.

Two-day street protest over economic hardships

YEN.com.gh has reported previously that Ghana’s capital is experiencing a historic two-day demonstration from Tuesday, June 28, Arise Ghana, a youth group, protests economic hardship in the country.

Leading Member of Arise Ghana, Ishaq Awudu, said in a statement issued on Monday, June 27, 2022, that well-meaning Ghanaians must participate in the first-ever two-day demonstration.

According to the statement issued by Arise Ghana, the protests are against the following six issues that have come to the fore of national discourse in the last few months.

• The persistent and astronomical fuel price hikes under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government have imposed excruciating economic hardships on Ghanaians;
• The imposition of the obnoxious E-Levy on the already-burdened Ghanaian people by the insensitive Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government and demand for its immediate repeal;

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The following have also been cited as reasons for what is expected to be a mammoth protest:

• The protest will demand a full-scale and bi-partisan parliamentary probe into COVID-19 expenditures;
• To protest against the grabbing of State lands by officials of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, particularly the de-classification of huge portions of the Achimota Forest reserve
• To protest against the increased rate of police brutalities and state-sponsored killing of innocent Ghanaians, as well as the growing culture of human rights abuses under President Akufo-Addo and Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia;
• To demand the total cancellation of the fraudulent “Agyapa” deal.

Source: YEN.com.gh