OGDH calls for independent inquiry into ten deaths in Balato
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Mosaiqueguinee, Guinee7 and Africaguinée
Ten people were killed and thirteen injured in violence in Balato, in the Siguiri region of Guinea, according to Africaguinée, which cites the government’s provisional toll. The OGDH calls for independent investigations into the origin of the gunfire and demands that those responsible answer before the courts.
On 11 November 2026, in Balato, Kintinian prefecture, Guinea, an operation by the defence and security forces degenerated into clashes with protesters, and gunfire was exchanged. In a statement dated 12 November, the government reported a provisional toll of ten dead, thirteen injured and considerable material damage.
These clashes broke out after the ban on artisanal gold mining, a measure applied in several other localities in the Siguiri region. Shots fired with live ammunition were reported during the operations. The Guinean Organisation for the Defence of Human and Citizens' Rights (OGDH), headed by Me Alpha Amadou DS Bah, said it was deeply dismayed, offered its condolences to the bereaved families and wished a speedy recovery to the injured. In a statement made public in Conakry on 13 November, it calls for the origin of the gunfire and the circumstances of the deaths to be established by independent, impartial and transparent investigations, and for those responsible to answer before the courts. It also calls on the population to remain calm and show restraint.
The OGDH recalls that any use of force, in particular firearms, must comply with the law and with the principles of necessity and proportionality, in line with the Constitution and the country’s international commitments. It urges the judiciary to carry out the announced investigations diligently.
According to the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, the Prosecutor General attached to the Kankan Court of Appeal and the State Prosecutor at the Siguiri Court of First Instance have been referred the matter. It is for them to establish responsibilities and, where appropriate, bring proceedings. On 13 November, Minister Djénabou Touré called for the restoration of state authority.
