A coalition of 20 African civil society organizations has called for an independent investigation into the discovery of six unidentified bodies in a mass grave in Guinea.
The appeal was made on Sunday (August 25), following the accidental discovery of the six male bodies by local men collecting firewood in the village of Alassoya, located in the Forecariah prefecture of Lower Guinea, on August 24. The bodies were found bound and blindfolded.
Guinea's armed forces have confirmed the discovery.
The NGOs involved in the appeal include the Afrikajom Center and several branches of Tournons La Page (TLP), an organization that brings together citizen movements in more than a dozen African countries.
The organizations demand that "all hypotheses be considered in an independent, objective, and transparent investigation." They also call for the investigation to be conducted "with the support of national and international forensic experts to formally identify the victims."
The organizations noted that this mass grave discovery follows "at least 35 cases of enforced disappearances recorded by TLP-Guinea since September 5, 2021." They added that the circumstances of the discovery "raise concerns that the victims may have been subjected to extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions."
Guinea's armed forces have pledged to conduct an investigation. In a statement, the military said the six bodies had been transferred to a hospital in Forecariah "to carry out identification and, if possible, determine the cause of their deaths." The statement added that "all measures are being taken to shed light" on the matter and that "the results of the investigation will be made public."
The incident comes amid widespread crackdowns on dissent by Guinea's government since General Mamady Doumbouya seized power in a 2021 coup. Since then, many political parties have been suspended and protests suppressed, while numerous opposition and civil society leaders have been arrested, convicted, or forced into exile.
Civil society organizations have also documented cases of opposition activists being kidnapped or disappearing under the military administration.
According to Africanews, a news agency based in Lyon, France, France has also called on Guinea's authorities to conduct a transparent and independent investigation into the mass grave. Africanews reported that another mass grave was discovered in the same region of Guinea last year, but investigations have yet to identify the victims or determine the cause of death.
