Ghana tomato traders among dead in Burkina Faso attack

Reports say at least 20 people were killed on Saturday in the northern town of Titao, Burkina Faso, in attacks claimed by JNIM – an Islamist militant group linked to al-Qaeda. Among the dead were seven Ghanaians “burnt beyond recognition” who have yet to be identified, said Ghana’s Interior Minister Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak. They were part of a team of tomato traders on a supply lorry targeted by the jihadists.

Road access to the area remains blocked, according to Ghanaian officials trying to evacuate other citizens who survived, making it impossible for embassy staff to visit the area. A spate of Islamist attacks have taken place in northern and eastern Burkina Faso in the past four days. Burkina Faso’s military rulers – who came to power promising an end to the jihadist violence – have not confirmed an official death toll for this latest spate of killings.

But on Sunday, an army spokesman insisted the situation was under control. “Multiple attacks took place on Saturday in the north of the country. Our forces demonstrated valour and professionalism, inflicting a heavy defeat on the terrorists and neutralising several dozen of them,” Lt Col Abdoul Aziz Ouedraogo said on state-run RTB the following day.

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Ouedraogo said the attack followed recent military operations in the north and Sahel regions, which had forced militants to regroup westwards. Describing the attack on Titao, witnesses said the attackers divided into three groups: one group targeted a military camp, another destroyed telephone facilities and a third looted and burnt shops and supply trucks. According to unnamed security sources quoted by the AFP news agency, “hundreds” of armed jihadists overran the Titao camp leaving it partially destroyed. They are also quoted as saying militants carried out a major attack on a military detachment in the northern town of Nare.

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