The Ghana Armed Forces said about 60 illegal miners, armed with among others things "pump action guns", had forced their way into the mine run by global giant AngloGold Ashanti and fired at the soldiers when they were intercepted. This prompted the soldiers "to retaliate in self-defence", leading to the deaths and injuries, it said in a statement.

An incident at AngloGold Ashanti's Obuasi mine in Ghana's Ashanti Region has reportedly resulted in the deaths of seven individuals, according to the Ghanaian army. The Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners,

A Ghanaian small-scale miners’ association on Sunday said soldiers killed at least nine unarmed people at an AngloGold Ashanti mine on Saturday night, while the army said seven illegal miners were killed in a firefight.