The Ghana Armed Forces has refuted claims that some of its officers deliberately opened fire on innocent Bawku civilians killing three of them in the process.

In a press release dated January 20, the GAF narrated that at about 8:30 pm on Thursday, their officers, conducting night foot patrols around Hasania School at Sabongari, were shot at by four gunmen.

The officers, they said, returned fire subsequently killing three of the gunmen while the fourtg escaped.

“Troops retrieved one AK-47 rifle loaded with 16 rounds of 7.62 x 39 mm ammunition. Ghana Police team arrived at the location subsequently to convey the deceased assailants to the morgue.

“The AK-47 rifle with serial number 81-1/13024074 inspected by Bawku Divisional Police personnel is currently in their own custody,” parts of the statement read.

The GAF said that already, heightened tensions in Bawku, which resulted in the death of four individuals the week prior, prompted increased security and patrol.

They explained that on Thursday, day of the incident, their officers were shot at by unknown gunmen and later the police foiled an attempt by two locals to blow up the Bawku Goil filling station.

“In as much as GAF regrets the demise of the assailants, the escalating violence in the Bawku general area is unfortunate.

“The presence and attempt to detonate high explosives such as RPG bombs in the operational environment signposts the changing dynamics of the threat profile,” they added.

This comes after the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, called out the armed Forces for allegedly shooting three innocent men without any reason.

Also read; Bawku: The military apprehended and killed the young men without any reason – Ayariga

Speaking on Newsfile, he claimed that "eyewitnesses saw everything that happened. These boys were not exchanging fire with anybody; they were actually apprehended.

“They were sitting [when the soldiers approached]; one ran away, but the others were sitting because they had done nothing wrong.”

“They picked them up; the assemblyman came out and pleaded for them to release the boys. They refused, and ultimately they shot the boys,” he said.

However, the GAF denied the claims calling it false information. They insisted that the notion that a particular group is being targeted by troops deployed in Bawku is unsubstantiated.

Bawku Conflict: 3 deceased men engaged in gun fight with military – MCE

But they indicated that directly engaging the military is a development that could result in fatal consequences, adding “troops will spare no opportunity to defend themselves as well as protect residents of Bawku.”

They cautioned the feuding factions to therefore avoid drawing the military into direct armed confrontation while efforts are undertaken to resolve the current impasse.

“GAF wishes to assure the general public of its fervent commitment to protecting the citizenry. It is therefore imploring the support of all peace-loving Ghanaians, especially the good people of Bawku to facilitate the process of bringing lasting peace to the area and also to aid GAF and sister security agencies in de-escalating tension in the interest of peace, security and socio-economic development of Bawku and the nation in general.”