Guinea: African organisations call for investigation after six bodies found in Forécariah

Twenty African civil society organisations have expressed outrage after six bodies were found in a mass grave in Sabakhouré, in the Allassoyah sub-prefecture of Forécariah, Guinea. According to their statement, made public on 30 August in Brazzaville, the bodies were found on 24 August.

The organisations said the bodies had their eyes and mouths covered, and their hands tied. They believe these elements raise fears of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

A case set against a backdrop of reported disappearances

The signatories recalled that Tournons La Page Guinée has documented at least 35 cases of enforced disappearances since September 2021. They also referred to the discovery of four other bodies in the same prefecture in October 2025, with no findings from an investigation having been made public, according to them.

For these organisations, the lack of known results fuels impunity and denies families access to the truth. They nevertheless welcomed the opening of an investigation by the Forécariah public prosecutor's office.

Calls for autopsies, DNA testing and protection

Civil society groups are calling for an independent, impartial and transparent investigation, with the assistance of Guinean and international forensic experts. They are asking for autopsies and DNA tests to be carried out promptly, and for the results to be communicated to the families.

The organisations also called for the protection of witnesses, victims' relatives and human rights defenders involved in documenting these cases.

Referrals planned to regional and international institutions

On 27 August, Tournons La Page Guinée referred the matter to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, several diplomatic missions and international NGOs, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and FIDH.

The twenty organisations have in turn announced a joint referral to ECOWAS and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. They want ECOWAS and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights to conduct an urgent fact-finding mission.