A soccer field stampede in Guinea has killed at least 56 people, officials said, including several children

Conakry, Guinea – 56 people died and many were injured when people stampeded on a football field in southern Guinea following clashes between supporters, the West African country’s military government said. The authorities are conducting an investigation to find out who caused the stampede on Sunday, said Communications Minister Fana Soumah in a statement read on national television.

Several children were among the victims, according to local media and a coalition of political parties.

The massacre took place 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 leader of the Guinean army, Mamadi Doumbouya, said the Prime Minister of Guinea, Amadou Oury Bah on social media.

“During the stampede, the victims were recorded,” Bah said, without giving details. District authorities were 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.

“This (proposed penalty) angered the supporters who threw stones. This is how the security forces used tear gas,” reported Media Guinea, a local news website. He said that some of the dead were children and some of the injured who were treated at the district hospital were in a 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 ran trying to escape the stadium, many jumping over the tall fence.

Some videos showed many people lying on the ground in what looked like a hospital, as a crowd gathered nearby, some helping the injured.

The opposition political alliance known as the National Alliance for Alternation and Democracy has called for an investigation. It said the competition was organized to encourage support for the “illegal and inappropriate” political ambitions of the country’s military leader.

Guinea has been led by the military since the military ousted President Alpha Conde in 2021. It is one of a growing number of West African countries, including Money, Niger again Burkina Fasowhere the military seized power and delayed the return to human rule in the entire region known as The African Rebellion Belt.

Doumbouya, who overthrew the president three years ago, said he was preventing the country from falling into chaos and was punishing the previous government for breaking promises. He has however been criticized for not living up to expectations.