Human Rights Watch (HRW) and EG Justice have called on the government of Equatorial Guinea to conduct an independent investigation into a series of explosions in Bata.

There were three massive blasts, followed by a series of smaller explosions, at Nkoatoma military camp on 07 March.

The blasts claimed more than 100 lives and injured 615 persons, according to government officials.

Almost all buildings and homes in Bata suffered ‘huge damage’, according to President Teodoro Obiang Nguema.

In a statement, President Obiang Nguema said the blasts had been caused ‘by the negligence of a unit charged with the care and protection of stores of dynamite and explosives’ at the Nkoantoma military base.

He said the base had ‘caught fire due to neighbouring farmers clearing farming land by setting it alight, leading to the explosion’.

Director of EG Justice, Tutu Alicante, said the people of Bata deserve credible answers to what happened and immediate support to treat the wounded, shelter the homeless, and rebuild the city.

‘The only way to deliver that is through an independent investigation and international aid that goes directly to affected people’, director of the group that promotes human rights and good governance in Equatorial Guinea said.

For the HRW researcher, Sarah Saadoun, she said, ‘The government’s response to the explosion has laid bare its callous disregard for the well-being of Equatorial Guineans.

‘Regardless of what caused the blasts, Equatorial Guineans deserve to know why the military is storing explosives in the middle of a populated area’.

The rights organisations called on the African Union and broader international community to also ensure that the Equatorial Guinean government does not use this tragedy as a pretext to further curtail rights.

Source: Human Rights Watch

Photo source: EPA