A wildlife officer at the Mole National Park in the Northern Region has been shot dead by suspected poachers.
Kasapa News sources said the incident happened earlier last Wednesday morning. The officer was found dead with gunshots injuries, the sources said.
Umar Farouk, Manager of the Park confirmed but declined to give details about the officer and how he was slain, citing ongoing police investigations.
“All that I can tell you is to confirm what you’ve heard: a staff of the Park has been shot and killed by poachers”, he told Kasapa News.
He added that the body had been retrieved and currently at a morgue in the government hospital at Damongo, the West Gonja district capital.
Umar Farouk however stated that clashes between officers and poachers at the Park are common.
The last time poachers killed an officer at the wildlife sanctuary was in 2002, nearly two decades but since then, many clashes have happened and in most cases casualties were recorded.
Poaching has been the biggest active threat at the Mole National Park. Poachers target elephants and antelopes for a lucrative Chinese market in the area.
Officers who have encountered these poachers said they are armed with sophisticated weapons and mostly operate during rainy season when the grasses grow thick, to provide hideouts.
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