Gambiaj.com – (CONAKRY, Guinea) – Reports of kidnappings and enforced disappearances in Guinea are intensifying, with critics accusing the government of President Mamadi Doumbouya of systematically targeting dissenting voices and their relatives.
The latest incidents involve the abduction of Mohamed Camara, the son of exiled opposition blogger Ansou Damaro Camara, and Ela Cissé, an opposition-linked figure. According to family sources and civil society groups, both were seized under unclear circumstances, adding to a growing pattern of disappearances under the ruling junta.
Ansou Damaro Camara, a vocal critic of the government currently based in the United States, publicly accused elements within the Guinean military of orchestrating his son’s kidnapping.
In a video circulated on social media, he suggested the act was intended to silence him, directly implicating the ruling National Committee of the Rally for Development (CNRD).
Civil society organization Tournons La Page (TLP) confirmed that Mohamed Camara, a minor, was abducted on the night of April 28 in Kissosso, a suburb of the capital Conakry.
The group condemned the act as both illegal and morally indefensible, particularly given the use of a child as leverage against a political opponent.
In a separate development, opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo reported that Thierno Sadou Bah, a member of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG) based in Liberia, has been missing in Conakry since April 21.
Diallo suggested that the methods used point to direct involvement by state authorities, accusing the junta of resorting to enforced disappearances as a tool of repression.
These incidents are part of a broader pattern that has emerged since Doumbouya seized power in a 2021 coup that ousted former president Alpha Condé.
Rights groups and opposition figures say the regime has increasingly relied on intimidation tactics, including the targeting of relatives of exiled critics when direct arrests are not feasible.
Previous cases include the March abduction of relatives of former minister Tibou Camara by armed men in military attire, as well as the unresolved disappearance of the teenage children of government critic Elie Kamano in November.
Observers note that the shrinking civic space in Guinea has coincided with the suspension of political parties, a ban on public demonstrations since 2022, and a wave of arrests and forced exiles affecting opposition leaders and civil society activists.
Guinean authorities have yet to respond to the latest allegations. Meanwhile, human rights advocates warn that the continued use of enforced disappearances risks deepening fear and undermining any prospects for democratic transition in the country.
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