Security consultant and a professor at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Kwesi Aning, has criticised Ghanaian authorities over what he describes as a failure to issue a formal travel advisory to traders who frequently journey to Burkina Faso, despite the rising wave of terrorist attacks across the Sahel.

Speaking on JoyNews AM Show on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, Aning revealed that he had 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 caution to traders travelling to Burkina Faso, Mali or Algeria.

According to him, the outcome was worrying, as no such advisory had been issued.

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“When a state fails its people at their critical point of need, words of sympathy almost don’t mean anything,” Aning said.

“For our people to voluntarily travel to a war zone in search of livelihood — It just tell a dramatic story,” he said.

According to media reports, ten men including the driver, and eight women were on board one of the trucks.

Seven of the men were killed while three others sustained serious injuries. Some of the women were affected but did not suffer severe injuries.

However, President of the Ghana National Tomatoes Transporters and Sellers Association, Eric Tuffuor, gave a different account, stating that eleven men lost their lives in the attack.

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He alleged that the assailants shot the men on sight, abducted some of the women and set the truck ablaze.

“Individuals, including the drivers, died instantly, and the trucks were set ablaze, leaving the bodies burnt beyond recognition,” he said.

Aning therefore urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant trade unions to urgently put in place formal travel advisories and coordinated safety measures for Ghanaians doing business within the Sahel, cautioning that failure to act could result in more avoidable deaths and grieving families.

SO/VPO

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