Guinea mass grave inquiry demanded by 20 African NGOs

Twenty African civil society organisations have demanded an independent, official investigation after six bodies were found bound and blindfolded in a mass grave in southwestern Guinea.

Local sources told AFP that young people gathering firewood found the six male bodies in the village of Allassoyah in Lower Guinea's Forecariah administrative prefecture last Monday.

The NGOs, including several branches of Tournons La Page, issued their statement Sunday. On the same day, Guinea's armed forces confirmed the discovery and said the bodies had been taken to a hospital in Forecariah for identification and, if possible, to determine the circumstances of their deaths.

The armed forces said measures were being taken to shed light on the discovery and that investigation results would be made public.

The civil society groups called for “all hypotheses” to be examined in an independent, impartial and transparent investigation, with support from national and international forensic experts to identify the victims.

The groups said the circumstances in which the bodies were found raised fears that the victims may have been subjected to extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

They also said the discovery came on top of at least 35 cases of enforced disappearances documented by TLP-Guinea since September 5, 2021.

Since General Mamady Doumbouya seized power in a 2021 coup, several political parties have been suspended and protests have been suppressed, while numerous opposition and civil society leaders have been arrested, sentenced or forced into exile.