The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has thrown its weight behind a comprehensive investigation into the killing of Ghanaian traders by the Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) terrorist group in Titao, northern Burkina Faso.
Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, speaking exclusively to Joy News’s Blessed Sogah on the sidelines of the ECOWAS Navy Chiefs Summit in Accra, condemned the February 14 attack and emphasized the importance of holding perpetrators accountable.
Eight Ghanaian tomato traders were killed and several others wounded when suspected JNIM militants ambushed them along the Sahel corridor — a route they regularly used for cross-border trade between northern Ghana and Burkina Faso.
President John Mahama has visited survivors receiving treatment at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra, where they were brought after being evacuated by the Ghana Armed Forces.
The attack has raised fresh alarm over the security risks facing Ghanaian nationals engaged in informal cross-border commerce, particularly along routes increasingly plagued by insurgent activity. For many communities in northern Ghana, cross-border trade in agricultural goods such as tomatoes and onions is a critical source of income — but worsening security conditions across parts of the Sahel have made such trade progressively more dangerous.