African NGOs demand probe into six bodies found in Guinea mass grave

What the report says

A coalition of 20 African civil society organisations has urged an independent inquiry into the discovery of six unidentified bodies in Guinea, according to Al Jazeera. The bodies were found on August 24 in Alassoya village in the Forecariah administrative prefecture of Lower Guinea, after local men collecting firewood came across what appeared to be a mass grave. The victims were described as male, and Al Jazeera reported that they were bound and blindfolded. Guinea’s armed forces have confirmed the discovery.

The groups, which included the Afrikajom Centre and several Tournons La Page branches, said the case should be examined by a probe that is impartial, transparent and able to establish the identities of the dead with the help of forensic specialists. They also linked the find to what they described as a broader pattern of enforced disappearances in Guinea since the military takeover in 2021. Al Jazeera said the military has promised an investigation and stated the bodies were taken to a hospital in Forecariah for identification and to help determine how they died.

The case adds to concerns about rights abuses in Guinea under General Mamady Doumbouya, who seized power in a 2021 coup. Since then, the article said, opposition parties have been suspended, protests curtailed and several activists and civil society figures arrested, sentenced or driven into exile. Al Jazeera also noted that France has called for a transparent investigation, and that another mass grave had been reported in the same region last year without a conclusive identification of the victims.