Security consultant and professor at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Prof. Kwesi Aning, has criticised Ghanaian authorities for failing to issue a formal travel advisory to traders who frequently travel to Burkina Faso, despite worsening terrorist violence in the Sahel region.
His comments come in the wake of a deadly terrorist attack on Ghanaian tomato traders near Titao, a town in northern Burkina Faso, on Saturday, February 14, 2026.
In an interview on Tuesday, February 17, Prof. Aning disclosed that he asked a producer to confirm whether any Ghanaian institution, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ghana Road Transport Union, or the Tomato Sellers Association, had issued a warning to traders travelling to Burkina Faso, Mali, or Algeria.
According to him, the results were alarming as no such advisory or warning had been issued.
“When a state fails its people at their critical point of need, words of sympathy almost don’t mean anything. For our people to voluntarily travel to a war zone in search of livelihood just tell a dramatic story,” Prof. Aning said.
According to Interior Minister Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, the traders were in Titao when jihadists launched an attack, specifically targeting the men.
Among those travelling on one truck were ten men, including the driver, and eight women. Seven men were killed, and three others sustained serious injuries.
Some of the women were affected but not seriously injured.
However, the President of the Ghana National Tomatoes Transporters and Sellers Association, Eric Tuffuor, stated that eleven men were killed in the attack.
He described how the attackers shot the men on sight, kidnapped some of the women and set the truck ablaze, burning everything to ashes.
Interior Minister Muntaka explained how the attack unfolded.
“The attackers forced the women off the trucks and opened fire indiscriminately. Several individuals, including the drivers, died instantly, and the trucks were set ablaze, leaving the bodies burnt beyond recognition,” he said.
Prof. Aning has urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant trade unions to urgently introduce clear travel advisories and coordinated safety measures for Ghanaians doing business in the Sahel.
He warned that without immediate action, more families could suffer devastating losses.
TAGGED:8 killedBurkina FasoSecurity analyst Prof. Kwesi Aningviolent attack
SOURCES:The Ghana Report
