By Seyi Babalola
Dozens of people were killed at a football game in Guinea due to clashes and a subsequent stampede, according to health officials.
The violence erupted during a match on Sunday afternoon in Nzerekore, Guinea’s second-largest city with a population of 200,000, after rival fans invaded the field following a contentious referee decision, according to news site Guineenews.
The exact number of casualties is unclear. Health officials cited by the AFP news agency put the death toll in dozens, with one doctor saying it was about 100.
“There are bodies lined up as far as the eye can see in the hospital,” said the doctor. “Others are lying on the floor in the hallways. The morgue is full.”
Guinea’s Prime Minister Bah Oury condemned the violence and urged calm in a statement posted on X on Sunday.
He said the government would issue a release once it gathered all the information.
Local news site Mediaguinee reports that the violence began when supporters of the visiting side, Labe, threw stones onto the ground in response to a referee call, causing the police to deploy tear gas.
Later, irate demonstrators vandalized and burned down the Nzerekore police station, according to Guineenews.
“It all started with a contested decision by the referee. Then fans invaded the pitch,” a witness told AFP.
The match was part of a tournament organised in honour of Guinea’s military leader, Mamady Doumbouya, who seized power in a 2021 coup and has installed himself as president.
Such tournaments have become common in the West African nation as Doumbouya eyes a potential run in the presidential election likely next year.
Guinea’s National Alliance for Alternation and Democracy (ANAD), a coalition of opposition parties, blasted the tournament calling it an attempt to advance Doumbouya’s “illegal and inappropriate candidacy”.
In September 2021, Doumbouya took control by force, overturning President Alpha Conde’s government, which had placed the then-colonel in charge of an elite unit tasked with guarding the head of state against coup attempts.
Under international criticism, he promised to relinquish control back to a civilian government by the end of 2024, but has subsequently stated that he will not.
A “transitional charter” drawn up by the military rulers shortly after the coup said no member of the military could stand in either national or local elections.
However, Doumbouya’s supporters have recently indicated their support for his presidential campaign.
At the end of September, officials announced that elections to restore constitutional order will be held in 2025.
Doumbouya is one of numerous commanders who have taken power in West Africa since 2020, joining fellow military leaders in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
