According to Human Rights Watch: "In the other incidents documented by Human Rights Watch, up to nine men were shot on the spot or found dead hours after being detained at artisanal gold mining sites, in their homes and villages, during celebrations, ceremonies, at watering holes, or at checkpoints. In some of these operations, the men were detained after their homes or villages had been searched. [...] Three witnesses described the detention of six men by security forces in late October 2018: four from Sana village and two from Béléhédé, and the discovery, a day later, of their bodies. Five of the men died. A witness from Sana said: I saw three vehicles and around nine motorcycles. They went directly to Hamidou Dicko’s home, he’s an old man and was sick with malaria. His 20-year-old son tried to explain that they didn’t speak Mooré, but the soldiers put both of them in their truck. Then they went 500 meters and detained Hassan Boucoum, a 55-year-old marabout, and then Boureima Boucoum who was working in front of his house. The soldiers tore their boubous to bind their hands and eyes and threw them in the same pick up. Two more were detained in Béléhédé but I didn’t see it. Around 3 p.m. we got the call saying their bodies had been found. Of the six men, four died there, one died a day later and the other’s whereabouts are unknown. A witness who found their bodies on October 27, 2018 and buried them the next day said: Their bodies were found in a hut three meters from the main road and just outside Lahorde village, some kilometers away from Sana. They were lying one on top of the other. I’d seen a convoy of soldiers passing by the area the day before around 10 a.m. Around, 4 p.m., I heard gunfire. I was frightened so only crept out the next morning to bury them. Their bodies were lying one on top of the other….and had several bullets – in the chest mostly. [...] Witnesses to all but one of the incidents described above said the alleged perpetrators were dressed in dark yellow and brown camouflage uniforms which, as noted, is worn by members of both the gendarmerie and army. “It can be confusing; the gendarmerie and the army use the same uniform in some theaters of operation,” one security force officer noted." However, on the basis of interviews with the witnesses, security sources, and community leaders representing the major ethnic groups present in Soum Province, Human Rights Watch believes the majority of incidents described above were perpetrated by a detachment of gendarmes who, in August 2018, had been deployed to the town of Arbinda to respond to the growing number of armed Islamist attacks, including many of those which targeted civilians and are described above." ^[+]