More men have reportedly fled their homes leaving women and children behind in an attempt to escape alleged military brutality in the Garu town of the Upper East Region.

The military reportedly stormed the area in the early hours of Sunday to subject civilians, particularly men to corporal punishments and physical assault resulting in several injuries.

The injured are seeking treatment at the Garu District Hospital which has been swamped by the huge number of cases.

According to the Assembly Member of Kpeikpira in Tempane who is a resident of Garu, Jacob Ayam, many men are currently seeking refuge in the Garu valley.

The military action, according to the National Security Ministry was triggered by an attack on their personnel on Saturday by irate youth of the town.

The ministry said it had deployed five counter-terrorism intelligence officers to Garu on a critical but special operation.

However, the irate youth group armed with AK 47 rifles, machetes and other weapons attacked the officers, shot at them and chased them to the police station where they were finally rescued by the Ghana Armed Forces.

The ministry says its subsequent operation in collaboration with the Ghana Armed Forces was to seize the weapons used by the perpetrators in the attack.

A number of the perpetrators have also been arrested, it added.

“The Ministry of National Security deems the attack on the security personnel at a police station highly unacceptable, and strongly condemns acts aimed at intimidating and harming officials of State Security and Intelligence Agencies, and impeding them from effectively executing their mandate to safeguard the peace and stability of Ghana,” it stated.