At least 10 civilians, including seven Ghanaian nationals, were killed over the weekend when suspected jihadists attacked the northern town of Titao in Burkina Faso, officials and local sources have said.

The assault, which occurred on Saturday, targeted Titao—the capital of Louroum province and a strategic military outpost. While the Burkinabè army later claimed it repelled the attack, residents reported significant civilian casualties, bringing the estimated death toll from jihadist violence across the country between Thursday and Sunday to at least 20.

A local resident told AFP that traders and truck drivers who had gathered for the market were among those killed, adding that several shops and vehicles were set ablaze during the raid.

Ghana’s Interior Minister confirmed on Monday that seven Ghanaian tomato sellers were among the victims. Speaking on local radio, he said the bodies of the Ghanaians had been burned beyond recognition. Ghana shares a southern border with Burkina Faso, and cross-border trade is common in the affected region.

Late Sunday, the Burkinabè military broke its usual silence on such incidents, announcing on national television that it had repelled a jihadist offensive on Titao. Army spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Abdoul Aziz Ouedraogo said the attackers set the market on fire in an attempt to record “propaganda” footage.

On Monday, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) claimed responsibility for the Titao attack, alleging it killed “dozens of Burkinabè soldiers.” The Al-Qaeda-linked group also said it carried out assaults on military positions in several towns, including Nare, Tandjari, Bilanga and Ouahigouya, over the same period.

Burkina Faso has endured more than a decade of insurgency by militants aligned with Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, despite the military seizing power in a 2022 coup on a pledge to restore security.

According to conflict tracker Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), the violence has claimed tens of thousands of civilian and military lives since 2015, with more than half of the deaths recorded in the past three years alone.