Fresh fears about Ghana’s security have been triggered following a weekend attack by suspected jihadist fighters in Burkina Faso, just a few kilometre
Fresh fears about Ghana’s security have been triggered following a weekend attack by suspected jihadist fighters in Burkina Faso, just a few kilometres from Ghana’s northern border.
The assault, carried out on Saturday, August 23, in Bittou, a Burkinabe town near the Bawku Municipality, left four members of Burkina Faso’s civilian militia dead.
The militants, identified as members of Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a powerful al-Qaeda affiliate operating in the Sahel, reportedly ambushed the Volunteers for the Protection of the Fatherland (VDP).
The militiamen’s weapons were seized after the killings, raising concerns about the growing firepower of extremist groups in the subregion.
Escalating Regional Insecurity
The latest attack is not an isolated incident. In June this year, JNIM claimed responsibility for another strike at Mongade, close to Kulungugu, a border community in the Upper East Region.
Earlier in March, the group was blamed for an attack in Garanga, near Nware in Ghana’s Pusiga District.
Security analysts warn that these repeated incursions signal a dangerous trend of extremist groups testing the vulnerabilities of border towns and exploiting the porous frontier between Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Togo.
A Burkinabe military source admitted the VDP fighters had been outnumbered and ill-prepared: “A small team went into the bush and encountered the jihadists. Very wrong move,” the officer said, underlining the challenges facing Burkina Faso’s auxiliary forces.
Jihadist Spread in the Sahel
JNIM, which has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda, has been one of the deadliest insurgent groups in the Sahel.
It has carried out hundreds of attacks in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger over the past five years, killing thousands and displacing millions.
The group’s activities have intensified since Burkina Faso’s political instability worsened after a series of military coups.
Ghana, which has so far remained relatively shielded from extremist attacks, is increasingly being drawn into the security crisis because of its shared borders and socio-economic ties with Burkina Faso.
Ghana’s Vulnerabilities
Experts point to several factors that make northern Ghana vulnerable to extremist spillover: porous borders, weak surveillance in remote areas, ethnic tensions, and the exploitation of local grievances by extremist recruiters.
The government has, in recent years, rolled out the “Operation Conquered Fist” initiative to bolster security in the north, deploying soldiers to border towns.
Yet, the persistence of attacks across the frontier raises doubts about whether the preparedness is adequate.
Local and International Response
In response to the Bittou attack, Burkinabe security forces launched a counter-operation along the borders with Ghana and Togo to flush out the attackers.
Ghanaian authorities are closely monitoring the developments, though official communication has been limited to avoid public panic.
Civil society groups and security analysts, however, are calling for urgent action.
They insist that Ghana cannot afford to wait for an attack within its borders before scaling up intelligence, border patrols, and community resilience programs.
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