Seven Ghanaian tomato traders have been killed following a terrorist attack on the town of Titao in northern Burkina Faso, the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, has confirmed.
The traders were travelling in a truck that came under attack last Saturday. At least four others were injured in the assault.
According to the minister, the vehicle carried 18 passengers — 10 men and eight women — when armed fighters stormed the town on February 14.
Speaking on Joy FM in an interview on Monday, February 16, 2026, Mubarak described the violence as targeted and brutal.
“The jihadists ran into the town and started rounding up almost everybody, especially the males, targeting to kill every male just on sight,” he said. “They separated the males from the females and went on the street and sprayed, killing almost all the males.”
Seven men died, three were injured, and one woman suffered severe injuries, while seven women escaped without serious physical harm.
Mubarak said Ghanaian authorities were coordinating closely with Burkina Faso officials. Because the security situation in Titao remains dangerous, Ghana’s embassy could not travel there for the burial.
He explained that the condition of the bodies required immediate burial, but Burkinabè authorities agreed to take DNA samples beforehand to assist with formal identification.
The surviving women, who knew the victims personally, have already given names to Ghanaian officials and will document the burial process.
“We have lists. The women who went with them knew who were there, who had lost their lives, who are alive and receiving treatment,” Mubarak said. “We do not want to mix it up, so that is why we are working with DNA to do some confirmations.”
The Burkinabè military is arranging an escort for the injured and survivors to Ouagadougou, where they will be handed over to the Ghana Embassy before plans are made to bring them home.
The Interior Minister urged the public to stop sharing disturbing images of the victims online, noting that some families were learning of deaths through social media posts before official notification.
He said authorities would release the names only after identities were confirmed.
Mubarak also warned about the wider insecurity in the Sahel and stressed the need for regional cooperation.
“This is something that no one can deal with alone,” he said. “Our citizens are intermarried, they intertrade, they will move. So let us work together to deal with this as a sub-region.”
