A violent clash during a football match in N’Zérékoré, Guinea-Conakry, resulted in dozens of deaths, medical sources reported on Sunday. One of the doctors said that ‘there are around 100 dead’, while the local hospital and morgue were overwhelmed with bodies. ‘There are bodies lined up as far as the eye can see in the hospital, others lying in the corridors. The morgue is full’, the doctor told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Other medical sources corroborated the figure of ‘dozens of dead’. Videos posted on social media show scenes of chaos in the streets around the stadium, with bodies strewn on the ground. AFP could not immediately verify the authenticity of the recordings.
According to witnesses, the violence began after a controversial decision by the referee, which led to fans invading the pitch. The match was part of a tournament organised in honour of Mamadi Doumbouya, leader of the Guinean junta, which took power in 2021 after a coup d’état. Such tournaments have become a regular occurrence in the country as Doumbouya considers a possible presidential bid.
The town of N’Zérékoré, located 570 kilometres from Conakry and with a population of 200,000, was the scene of the tragedy. So far, the government has not commented on the incident.