The Ministry of the Interior has confirmed that seven Ghanaian tomato traders lost their lives in a terrorist attack in northern Burkina Faso last Saturday.
The assault on the town of Titao on February 14 also left four other Ghanaian citizens injured.
The traders were travelling in a truck carrying 10 men and eight women when armed fighters attacked the town.
According to the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, the assailants specifically targeted males.
“The jihadists ran into the town and started rounding up almost everybody, especially the males, targeting to kill every male just on sight,” the Minister explained in a radio interview.
“They separated the males from the females and went on the street and sprayed, killing almost all the males.”
As a result of the attack, seven of the men were killed, three sustained injuries, and one woman was seriously hurt. The remaining seven women managed to escape without significant physical harm.
Minister Mubarak stated that he has been in constant communication with his Burkinabè counterpart since the incident.
Due to the rapid deterioration of the bodies in the local climate, Burkinabè authorities secured permission from the families, through the Ghanaian officials, to proceed with burials on Sunday morning.
The security situation in Titao prevented Ghana’s diplomatic mission in Ouagadougou from travelling to the scene to witness the burials.
To ensure accurate identification, Minister Mubarak confirmed that DNA samples were taken from the victims before burial.
This step is being coordinated with the personal accounts of the survivors.
“We have lists. The women who went with them knew who was there, who had lost their lives, who were alive and receiving treatment,” he said.
“We do not want to mix it up, so that is why we are working with DNA to do some confirmations.”
The Ghanaian embassy is actively working to formally notify the victims’ families. The Minister made an urgent appeal to the public to stop sharing graphic images and videos of the victims on social media, as some families are discovering the tragedy through these posts before being officially informed.
He also urged patience while authorities complete the process of confirming identities before releasing names publicly.
Efforts are now focused on the safe return of the survivors. The Burkinabè military is arranging an escort to bring the injured and surviving Ghanaians from Titao to Ouagadougou, where they will be received by embassy officials. Plans for their repatriation to Ghana will follow.
The Minister framed the tragic event within the context of a growing regional security crisis in the Sahel, noting that such attacks claim an estimated 80 lives daily across the region.
He recalled a recent security summit convened by President John Mahama in Accra, which brought together leaders from Mali, Liberia, and Ghana to foster a collaborative response.
“This is something that no one can deal with alone,” Minister Mubarak emphasised.
“Our citizens are intermarried, they intertrade, they will move. So let us work together to deal with this as a sub-region.”
Ghanaian tomato traders caught in Burkina Faso terror attack – Interior minister confirms
