By Daniel Bampoe
The human toll of the deadly terrorist attack in Titao, northern Burkina Faso, has deepened with the confirmation of Constance Nyarko, popularly known as Yaa Yaa, as the only female victim killed in the assault.
Yaa Yaa, a well-known tomato trader from Koforidua, leaves behind two children — a 13-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl — plunging her family and community into grief.
Her death brings the confirmed number of Ghanaian fatalities from the February 14, 2026 attack to eight, according to official sources, as authorities continue to coordinate support for survivors and bereaved families.
The attack targeted a group of Ghanaian tomato traders and transporters operating in northern Burkina Faso, part of a long-standing cross-border trading network that supplies tomatoes and onions to markets across Ghana.
Initial reports following the attack suggested that Yaa Yaa was missing and unaccounted for. Community members in Koforidua, including family and friends, held onto hope that she had survived.
Early information from sources in Burkina Faso indicated that she may have been hiding inside the truck with the driver when the attackers opened fire and later set the vehicle ablaze.
Subsequent reports from the scene of a mass burial in Burkina Faso included a name listed as “Yaya,” which sources claimed referred to the Koforidua trader. However, this information could not be independently verified at the time.
Despite the growing evidence, those closest to her refused to give up hope.
Maabena, a close friend who often cared for Yaa Yaa’s children when she travelled for trade, publicly expressed belief that she might still be alive.
That hope, however, has now been replaced by mourning, as confirmations from coordinating authorities and family sources point to her death.
The killing of Yaa Yaa personalizes a tragedy that had previously been described mainly in statistics and official statements.
She was not only a trader but also a mother and breadwinner, part of a generation of women who sustain the informal agricultural economy through cross-border trade.
Her life and death reflect the risks faced by thousands of Ghanaian traders who travel regularly to Burkina Faso to secure produce for local markets.
The Titao attack has been linked to Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), an extremist group active across the Sahel. Witness accounts indicate that attackers stormed the town, separated men from women, opened fire on traders and drivers, and set trucks ablaze, turning a routine trading mission into a mass-casualty incident.
For years, towns in northern Burkina Faso such as Titao have been under persistent siege from jihadist violence.
Since 2019, the region has suffered repeated attacks on civilians, traders, and military installations, making cross-border trade increasingly dangerous.
Yet, economic necessity has continued to push Ghanaian traders along these routes, driven by the demand for tomatoes and onions that support food supply chains across Ghana.
