The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has described as fake viral videos on social media which sought to suggest mishandling of civilians by soldiers of the Operation Covid Safety team.
According to the outfit, it is convinced that the deliberate circulation of these unrelated and doctored social media material is a malicious attempt by some people to cast the operation in a bad light.
The Director of Public Relations, Colonel Aggrey Quashie, in a statement said the videos are doctored and re-cycled videos of past events some of which did not even originate in Ghana.
“It would be recalled that on Saturday, March 28, 2020, the media carried a news item purportedly showing the arrival of troops in Kumasi to ensure residents conform to the partial lockdown directives by the President.
“The purported recording featured a voice which issued threats to residents of the Ashanti region of intended brutalities by the Military,” it said
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“This reportage, after our investigation, was found to be a doctored video. The said troops were in fact, part of a disinfection exercise which took place recently in Accra but had no bearing to the restrictions programme currently underway,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, it has assured that genuine incidents of the wrongful use of force by soldiers attached to the operation will be investigated with those found culpable disciplined.
Operation Covid Safety is a joint security taskforce enforcing the 14 days lockdown in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area and Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area aimed at curbing the spread of the infectious coronavirus disease.