Since the first shots were fired in the civil war on 7 June there have been rumours of human rights abuses by forces loyal to the government and by their opponents. More detailed reports are now filtering out about threats to the lives of members of opposition parties and government critics who may be suspected of supporting the rebels and about prisoners held by the rebel forces. Refugees have told Amnesty International that they have seen bodies or heard about people who have been deliberately killed by unknown assailants, some apparently for looting, some may have been suspected of supporting the opposing side and others were possibly killed in personal vendettas. According to one report received by Amnesty International, Ezekiel Ferreira, a communications engineer, was arrested on 15 June on suspicion of passing information to the rebels. His family do not know what has become of him.
Several people are reportedly in hiding to evade possible arrest.
They include members of a parliamentary commission of inquiry into allegations of arms trafficking across Guinea-Bissau's northern border to separatist rebels in the Casamance area of Senegal. The inquiry is said to have found evidence that senior government officials were involved. There is also fear for the safety of others who have criticized the government, including journalists and human rights activists. The rebels are said to be holding more than 200 foreign civilians, mostly Senegalese, who are held separately from about 20 others from Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Prisoners are reported to have been tied up and beaten with gun barrels.