African NGOs demand probe into six bodies found in Guinea mass grave
The bodies were found bound and blindfolded in the Forecariah administrative prefecture on August 24 .
A group of 20 African civil society organisations has called for an independent investigation into the discovery of six unidentified bodies in a mass grave in Guinea .
The call on Sunday came after local men gathering firewood stumbled upon the six male bodies in the village of Alassoya in Lower Guinea’s Forecariah administrative prefecture on August 24 .
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The bodies were found bound and blindfolded .
Guinea’s Armed Forces have confirmed the discovery .
The NGOs included the Afrikajom Centre and several branches of the Tournons La Page ( TLP ) , an organisation that unites citizens ’ movements across a dozen African countries .
They demanded that “ all hypotheses be examined as part of an independent , impartial and transparent investigation ” . They also called for the investigation to be conducted “ with the support of national and international forensic experts in order to formally identify the victims ” .
The groups said the discovery of the mass grave comes on top of “ at least 35 cases of enforced disappearances documented by TLP - Guinea since September 5 , 2021 ” .
They added that the circumstances in which the bodies were found “ raise fears that the victims may have been subjected to extrajudicial , summary or arbitrary executions ” .
Guinea’s Armed Forces have promised an inquiry .
The military said in a statement that the six bodies have been transported to the hospital in Forecariah “ to proceed with identification and , if possible , determine the circumstances of their deaths ” .
It added that “ all measures were being taken to shed light ” on the discovery and stated that “ investigation results will be made public ” .
The discovery comes amid a wide - ranging crackdown on dissent in Guinea following General Mamady Doumbouya’s seizure of power in a coup in 2021 .
Since the power grab , several political parties have been suspended and protests suppressed , while numerous opposition and civil society leaders have been arrested , sentenced , or forced into exile .
Civil society groups have also documented cases of opposition activists being abducted or disappearing under the military government .
France has also called on Guinean authorities to conduct a transparent and independent investigation into the mass grave , according to Africanews , a news outlet based in the French city of Lyon .
Africanews said another mass grave was found in the same region of Guinea last year , but investigations have yet to determine the identities of the victims or their causes of death .
