The son of a Guinean opposition figure in exile and a member of the opposition have been kidnapped in Guinea, AFP learned Thursday from their respective family and political circles.

Cases of abductions and enforced disappearances of dissenting voices and their relatives have multiplied in recent years in Guinea, a country ruled with an iron fist by General Mamadi Doumbouya, who came to power through a coup in 2021 and was elected president in December.

Guinean blogger Ansou Damaro Camara, known as "5-Star General", an opposition figure in exile in the United States, announced the kidnapping of his son Mohamed Camara along with that of "his friend", Ela Cissé, in a video posted on Facebook, which was seen by AFP on Thursday.

He accuses a Guinean soldier of being behind this kidnapping. "You think that by taking my boy you will silence me?", he says in this video, also mentioning "the CNRD" (National Committee for the Rally for Development).

"The CNRD is a government that is not there to protect citizens (and) children, it enjoys this," he said, without further explanation.

The CNRD is the governing body of the junta, led by Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, who has since become a general, which overthrew President Alpha Condé in 2021.

Mohamed Camara was abducted "on the night of April 28 in Kissosso", in the suburbs of Conakry, says the "Turn the Page" (TLP) collective, a citizen movement, in a statement published Thursday.

"Using a 15-year-old minor as a means of exerting pressure against an engaged father is not only illegal, but morally indefensible," the group stated in its press release.

When contacted on Thursday, the Guinean authorities did not respond.

Former Guinean Prime Minister and opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo also announced on Facebook on Thursday that an official from his party in neighboring Liberia "has been missing in Conakry since Tuesday, April 21, 2026," without further details.

Thierno Sadou Bah is "a member of the federal bureau" in Liberia of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG), according to Mr. Diallo, head of this party and in exile abroad.

"The modus operandi, as well as the practice of making relatives disappear when it is not possible to capture critical voices residing abroad, clearly indicates that the junta is behind these kidnappings," he adds, alluding to the Guinean government.

This is not the first time that relatives of exiled opposition members or opposition members themselves have been abducted or have gone missing in Guinea.

The mother of a political opponent in exile, former minister Tibou Camara, and two other women from his family were "kidnapped" in March by "men dressed in fatigues" and released five days later.

In November, the children of Guinean singer and government critic Elie Kamano, aged 14 and 16, were abducted by "hooded individuals" and have not been found since.

Since Mr. Doumbouya took power, several political parties have been suspended, demonstrations - banned since 2022 - have been repressed, and many opposition and civil society leaders have been arrested, convicted, or forced into exile.

AFP