Brigadier General Joseph Ahour has justified the shooting by the military at Ejura, an incident that led to the death of two persons with several others sustaining injuries.
Appearing before the three-member committee probing the matter, the commander who asked the military to proceed to Ejura on the instruction of the Regional Minister, said more persons would have been dead if they had used maximum force.
He disclosed before the committee that the military used minimum force because several persons would have been dead.
He alleged that they saw persons firing gunshots in the crowd.
He explained that they first used verbal warnings, warning shots before subsequently firing live bullets into the crowd.
He insisted that they had exhausted all procedures and they were to maim the crowd but unfortunately two persons died.
When asked if the situation required the use of live bullets, he answered in the affirmative.
He also indicated that the Minister’s decision to invite the military was based on good judgment and reasoning.
The military capo added that the crowd attacked the Police and the situation would have been a dire one if the military had not stepped in.
“At the time we fired the warning shots, we realized some people were firing in the crowd. At that stage, it was too bad for us to see civilians firing from the crowd. I think the commander at that stage had to use the minimum force.”
“We strongly believe that there would have been more deaths if we wanted to use proper force. We tried to maim the people and used minimal force,” he added.
He said there were ten military officers deployed to Ejura on the day of the incident.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com