The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) have launched a series of precise anti-galamsey operations across the country, leading to the seizure of excavators and the destruction of makeshift mining camps in several forest reserves and protected zones.

Described as “surgical” in nature, the operations were designed to target illegal mining activities with minimal collateral damage, forming part of a broader national agenda to safeguard natural resources, particularly forests and water bodies.

Military units from the Northern, Central, and Southern Commands undertook coordinated actions to disrupt galamsey activities in key hotspots simultaneously.

Troops under the Northern Command focused their efforts in Bole and the Black Volta Basin, areas that have recently seen increased illegal mining activity.

In the Central Command zone, attention was directed at the Nkawie and Mankranso Forest Reserves, where multiple illegal sites were discovered and dismantled.

Meanwhile, the Southern Command conducted raids within the Jerusalem enclave and the Subri Forest Reserve, where similar illegal operations had been thriving.

The exercise led to the confiscation of several excavators and mining-related equipment. In addition, structures erected by illegal miners were pulled down, as part of efforts to deter further encroachment on protected lands.