Burkina Faso Terrorist Attack: Security Expert Blames Gov’t Over Traders’ Deaths

Security consultant and professor at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Prof. Kwesi Aning, has lashed out at government authorities for failing to issue a formal travel advisory to Ghanaian traders regularly travelling to Burkina Faso, despite escalating terrorist violence in the Sahel.

His critism followed a deadly terrorist attack on Ghanaian tomato traders near Titao, a town in northern Burkina Faso, last Saturday, killing seven people. The bodies of the deceased have since been buried by Burkina Faso authorities with approval from the Government of Ghana.

Prof. Aning, who was speaking to JoyNews yesterday, said his checks revealed that no government institution, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ghana Road Transport Union or even the Tomato Sellers Association, had issued a warning to traders travelling to Burkina Faso, Mali or Algeria.

He described the situation as troubling, stating, “When a state fails its people at their critical point of need, words of sympathy almost don’t mean anything,” Prof. Aning said.

Prof. Aning urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant trade unions to urgently establish formal travel advisories and coordinated safety protocols for Ghanaians trading within the Sahel, warning that failure to act could leave more families grieving.

Mahama consoles families

Meanwhile, President John Mahama has extended the government’s condolences to the families of Ghanaian traders who were killed in the terrorist attack in Burkina Faso.

Speaking at the opening of the Ghana Tree Crops Investment Summit & Exhibition at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) yesterday, the President said, “On behalf of the government and people, we express our condolences to the families of those who were killed or injured”.

He assured the nation that the government is taking immediate action to bring the wounded back home, stating, “The Ghana Armed Forces are arranging to medically evacuate the injured from Burkina Faso so they can continue receiving treatment here in Ghana.”

How the attack happened

Explaining how the incident happened, the Interior Minister Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, said the truck was carrying ten men and eight women when armed fighters attacked at Titao, shooting male residents and travellers on sight.

“The jihadists ran into the town and started rounding up almost everybody, especially the males, targeting to kill every male just on sight. They separated the males from the females and went on the street and sprayed, killing almost all the males,” he said.

He said seven of the men died, three sustained injuries, and one woman suffered serious injuries. The remaining seven women escaped without serious physical harm.