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Gangs smash shops, attack police in Stuttgart
Groups of people have smashed shop windows, looted, and attacked police vehicles in central Stuttgart during hours of night-time disturbances.
German police say more than a dozen police officers were hurt during the violence, in south-west Germany.
Video clips on Twitter show people vandalising shops in the city centre and hurling big stones and other objects at police vehicles.
Stuttgart police say the violence began after police checked a drugs incident.
The situation escalated after a 17-year-old was questioned for an alleged drug offence, the city’s police vice-president Thomas Berger told reporters.
A group of between 100 and 200 people responded by throwing stones and bottles at the police on the central Schlossplatz, a large square.
This then grew, he said, to between 400 and 500 people attacking police. Many of the rioters were said to be hooded and masked.
Police president Frank Lutz suggested the situation had become more tense over the past three to four weeks.
What he described as people from the “party and event scene” in Stuttgart had been getting drunk in public and adopted an aggressive and insulting tone towards police on social media.
Local politicians and ordinary citizens expressed shock, saying the scale of the rampage was unprecedented for Stuttgart in recent years.
A mobile phone shop and a jewellery store were among the businesses attacked and looted. Some fast food outlets were also vandalised, public broadcaster SWR reports.
In total, 40 shops were damaged, and nine looted.
Some rioters threw chunks of paving stone and other missiles at passing police cars. At one point, the police said, the situation was “out of control”.
More than 200 extra police were rushed into the city centre, where shops had been attacked apparently at random.
The situation was calmer after dawn and firefighters and civil protection volunteers (THW) began repairing the many damaged shop fronts.
Twenty-four people were arrested – 12 Germans and 12 described as non-German. Police have appealed for witness evidence including mobile phone footage.
Nineteen police officers were injured and 12 police vehicles damaged.
City mayor Fritz Kuhn said: “I was very shocked this morning when I learned about what happened overnight. Stuttgart has never witnessed a night like this, with such attacks on the police.”
He said such behaviour was unacceptable, regardless of the cause, be it alcohol or incitement via social media. -BBC
Troubled and anxious citizens in Damongo of the Savannah Region have expressed concerns about the number of young people, believed to be under the age of 18, involved in ‘shisha’ smoking in pubs and drinking spots within the township.
Eyewitnesses say the minors were seen patronising nightlife venues, where Shisha smoking happen in the open.
The situation has sparked renewed public concern over the enforcement of child protection laws and regulations governing the operations of entertainment centres in the municipality and country as a whole.
An eyewitness, who spoke to The Spectator on conditions of anonymity for security reasons, noted that the situation was becoming increasingly common.
“This is not a one-off incident. It is becoming very common, but residents like us cannot openly report or speak about it because our lives will be at risk,” he said.
Under Ghanaian law, minors were prohibited from patronising Shisha.
Public health experts have consistently warned that shisha use exposes users to harmful substances that can negatively affect brain development, respiratory health, and overall well-being, particularly among young people.
The residents believe the alleged incidents point to broader challenges relating to youth supervision, substance abuse, and weak enforcement of existing regulations and have called on municipal authorities, security agencies, and regulatory bodies to intensify monitoring of pubs and entertainment centres to ensure compliance with the law.
In an effort to address the menace, Mr Salisu Be-Awurbi, the Savannah Regional Minister, has led public education campaigns, engaged security agencies, and supported enforcement actions to address the rising use of illicit substances in the region.
Wura Kelly Seidu Boresah I, the Chief of Damongo, has also called on all stakeholders including parents, community leaders, institutions, and young people to actively support efforts to curb drug abuse, warning that the rising consumption of hard drugs poses a serious health threat to the future of the youth in the Savannah Region.
He also cautioned individuals involved in the sale and distribution of illicit drugs to immediately desist from the practice, stressing that offenders will face arrest and prosecution in accordance with the law.
From Geoffrey Buta, Damongo, Savannah Region
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Dr Theresa Baffour, an advocate for ending violence and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SAHM SAHW Foundation, has said that society plays a critical and pivotal role in breaking the cycle of domestic violence.
According to her, domestic violence is a major contributor of making women, who are mostly the victims, mentally derailed and unable to engage in economic activities.
She said this when the foundation called on the Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, to solicit support for the initiative by the “Strong and Healthy Minds, Strong and Healthy Women” (SAHM SAHW) to combat domestic violence within the Ga State.
The visit was occasioned by the fact that domestic violence cases have become quite prevalent in the Ga communities and is retarding growth.
According to her, the canker was an impediment to national development because the victims were usually tortured and would have to go through series of therapies to return to the right state of mind.
Dr Baffour mentioned that Gender-Based Violence (GBV) places a mental toll on women, and was, therefore, important to break the cycle through comprehensive mental health support, crisis intervention and empowerment programmes in communities with high rates of GBV.
This intervention, she underscored, would help in empowering the denigrated victim of domestic violence to soundly heal, build and thrive.
Dr Baffour added that the initiative would provide holistic, trauma-informed mental health care and advocacy for young women affected by domestic violence.
According to her, the above statement would create safe spaces for healing and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills for renewed hope and empowered life.
The Ga Mantse pledged his support for the laudable initiative to combat domestic violence and also acknowledged the need to address it in the Ga State.
Further endorsement came from Justice Julia Naa-Yarley Adjei Amoah, Chief of Staff at the Office of the Ga Mantse, as she commended the team of SAHM SAHW Foundation for taking a bold step to end the canker in the Greater Accra.
She added that it was a step in the right direction to save vulnerable women from torture, stress and emotional abuse.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
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