Forestry Commission Team Ambushed by Armed Galamsey Gang in Jimira Forest Reserve

A Forestry Commission Rapid Response Team narrowly escaped with their lives after they were ambushed by a gang of over 20 armed illegal miners while patrolling the Jimira Forest Reserve on Saturday, June 28, 2025.

According to officials, the team was acting on intelligence that Compartment 34 of the Jimira Forest Reserve in the Bentiko-Pakyi enclave had once again been invaded by illegal miners, despite several previous clampdown efforts.

“We had attempted on two occasions to stop these operations, but each time, we were blocked by armed thugs,” an officer with the team told JoyNews’ Erastus Asare Donkor.

■ Gunfire, Machetes, and a Narrow Escape

This most recent operation involved a team of eight officers. Upon nearing the Reserve’s boundary, the officers were confronted by three pick-up vehicles blocking the route. What followed was a carefully laid ambush.

“The armed men jumped from the nearby bushes and began firing warning shots,” an officer recounted. “One of our men seated at the front was slashed multiple times with a machete.”

A vehicle sustained bullet damage, and the assaulted officer was injured. Thankfully, no lives were lost as the team retreated for safety.

■ A Recurring Danger

This marks at least the third violent encounter with illegal miners in the Jimira Forest in just over two months. A similar attack on May 27, 2025, left another officer wounded after being slashed in the knee by the same group of galamseyers.

Despite police support from the Nkawie Divisional Command, the Jimira and Jimira Extension Forest Reserves have become dangerous territories for state officials.

“The situation is deteriorating. These reserves have effectively become no-go zones for Forestry officers,” a senior official lamented.

■ Calls for Reinforcement

The Forestry Commission has reported the latest incident to the Nkawie Police, renewing calls for increased security presence, military support, and stronger legal action to protect Ghana’s rapidly vanishing forest reserves from violent encroachment.

Environmental activists are also raising alarms over the increasing militarisation of illegal mining, urging government intervention before more lives are lost.