Chaos at a Guinea football match following clashes killed 56 people – nationally
At least 56 people have been killed and many injured in a stampede at a football stadium in southern Guinea, following clashes between fans, the Guinean government said on Monday.
Authorities are conducting an investigation to identify those involved in Sunday’s stampede, said Communications Minister Fana Soumah in a statement read on national television.
Among the victims are several children according to local media and a coalition of political parties.
The massacre broke out on Sunday afternoon at the stadium in the city of Nzerekore during the final match of the domestic competition between Labe and Nzerekore in honor of the Guinean military leader, Mamadi Doumbouya, said the Prime Minister of Guinea, Amadou Oury Bah, speaking at the X stadium.
“During the stampede, the victims were recorded,” Bah said, without giving details. District authorities are working to restore peace in the area, he added.
Local media reported that the security forces tried to use tear gas to restore peace after the chaos that followed the disputed sentence.
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“This (the contested penalty) angered the fans who threw stones. In this way, the security forces used tear gas,” reported Media Guinea, a local news website. It said that most of the dead were children and some of the injured were treated at the district hospital in critical condition.
Videos that appeared to be from the scene showed fans in a section of the stadium shouting in protest at the referees before clashes broke out as people poured onto the pitch.
People were running as they tried to cross the field, many jumping over a tall fence.
The videos also showed many people lying on the ground in what looked like a hospital as a crowd gathered around, some helping the injured.
The National Alliance for Alternation and Democracy has called for an investigation. It said the contest was organized to encourage support for the military leader’s “illegal and inappropriate” political ambitions.
Guinea has been led by the military since the military overthrew President Alpha Conde in 2021. It is one of the West African countries, including Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, where the military has taken power and is delaying the return to civilian rule.
Doumbouya, who overthrew the president three years ago, said he was preventing the country from falling into chaos and punished the previous government for breaking promises. However, he has been criticized for not living up to what he said.
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