By: brightwebtv/Nana Asare Barimah

Tomato importers attacked, two killed

One of the survivors of the deadly April 16, 2022, attack on Ghanaian traders heading to Burkina Faso to import tomatoes, has spoken to the Ghana News Agency.

According to a driver of one of the ill-fated buses, Mr. Kofi Nti, the assailants were heard speaking Twi during the operation that led to the death of two tomato traders.

In a GNA report available to GhanaWeb, Kofi Nti narrated the sequence of events leading to the attack.

He said, it took the firing of rounds for force the drivers to stop the vehicle when the armed robbers shot directly at the occupants. They (robbers) ordered all the traders to disembark after which they demanded everyone surrenders their monies, which order was heeded to.

He added that, the unsatisfied robbers demanded more and subjected all the women traders to severe beatings, severely injuring three.

With respect of how the two deaths were recorded, he stated that a shot through the windscreen killed one person instantly, while the other who died afterwards sustained severe injuries and was bleeding profusely.

The traders confirmed that the armed robbers numbering about seven fled on motorbikes after the attack.

Some of the women confirmed losing different amounts of currencies especially the West African CFA.

Meanwhile, authorities in both countries are undertaking a joint investigation to apprehend the assailants.

About the Tambolo attack

Armed robbers attacked five tomato importing vehicles at Tambolo near Dakota in Burkina Faso and about half a mile from the Ghana border at Paga.

The five vehicles were on their way from Ghana to Burkina Faso to buy tomatoes when the armed men attacked and shot at them sporadically killing one instantly at about 1900 hours, Saturday, April 16, 2022.

The other passed on shortly after arriving at the War Memorial Hospital in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region, where the injured persons are currently receiving medical attention.

Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr David Fianko-Okyere, Public Relations Officer, Upper East Regional Police Command, who confirmed the accident to the Ghana News Agency, said the injured were responding to treatment, while the bodies of the deceased have also been deposited at the morgue of the hospital for preservation.