Conakry, Guinea — Fifty-six people were killed and several injured in a stampede at a football stadium in southern Guinea following clashes between supporters, the West African country’s military government announced Monday. Authorities were investigating who was responsible for Sunday’s stampede, Communications Minister Fana Soumah said in a statement read on national television.
Several children were among the victims, according to local media and a coalition of political parties.
The stampede broke out Sunday afternoon at the stadium in the town of Nzérékoré during the final of a local tournament between the Labé and Nzérékoré teams in honor of Guinean military leader Mamadi Doumbouya, the Guinean Prime Minister said Amadou Oury Bah on social networks.
Social media/Reuters
“During the stampede, casualties were recorded,” Bah said, without giving details. Regional authorities are working to restore calm to the region, he added.
Local media reported that security forces attempted to use tear gas to restore calm after the chaos that followed a disputed sanction.
“This (the disputed penalty) angered the supporters who were throwing stones. This is how the security services used tear gas,” reported Media Guinea, a local news site. Several of those killed were children, while some of the injured treated at a regional hospital were in critical condition.
Videos that appeared to be from the scene showed fans in part of the stadium shouting and protesting against the refereeing before clashes broke out as people flocked to the field. People ran to try to escape the stadium, many of them jumping over a high fence.
Other videos showed many people lying on the floor in what looked like a hospital, as a crowd gathered nearby, some helping the injured.
An opposition political coalition known as the National Alliance for Alternation and Democracy has called for an investigation. He said the tournament was organized to drum up support for the “illegal and inappropriate” political ambitions of the country’s military leader.
Guinea has been ruled by the military since the soldiers deposed president Alpha Condé in 2021. It is one of several countries in West Africa, the number of which continues to grow. Mali, Niger And Burkina Fasowhere the military took power and delayed the return to civilian rule in an area known as The coup belt in Africa.
Doumbouya, who ousted the president three years ago, said he was trying to prevent the country from descending into chaos and castigated the previous government for broken promises. However, it was criticized for failing to live up to the expectations it had raised.