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

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 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. The bodies were found bound and blindfolded. Guinea’s Armed Forces have confirmed the discovery. The NGOs, including the Afrikajom Centre and several branches of the Tournons La Page (TLP), demanded that all hypotheses be examined as part of an independent, impartial and transparent investigation, with support from national and international forensic experts to formally identify the victims. The groups said the discovery comes on top of at least 35 cases of enforced disappearances documented by TLP-Guinea since September 5, 2021, and that the circumstances raise fears of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. Guinea’s Armed Forces have promised an inquiry, stating that the bodies have been transported to the hospital in Forecariah for identification and to determine the circumstances of their deaths, and that investigation results will be made public. The discovery comes amid a crackdown on dissent following General Mamady Doumbouya’s coup in 2021, with political parties suspended, protests suppressed, and opposition leaders arrested or exiled. France has also called for a transparent and independent investigation. Another mass grave was found in the same region last year, but investigations have yet to determine identities or causes of death.