Guinea football match clashes leave dozens dead

Hospital sources informed AFP of images of mass devastation at a football game in N’Zerekore, Guinea’s second-largest city, when fan conflicts claimed dozens of lives on Sunday.

“The hospital has bodies arranged in a line as far as the eye can see. Others are sprawled out on the corridor floors. Because he was not authorized to speak to the media, one doctor stated, “The morgue is full,” under the condition of anonymity.

“There are about 100 dead,” he added, adding that the local morgue and hospital were overflowing with bodies. “Dozens of dead” were reported by another physician.
Images of commotion in the street outside the match and multiple bodies on the ground were captured in social media videos that AFP was unable to confirm right away.

According to witnesses, angry protesters also damaged and burned the N’Zerekore police station.

It all began when the referee made a contentious call. After then, fans stormed the field, a witness told AFP, requesting that his identity be kept anonymous for security reasons.

According to local media, the game was a part of a tournament held in honor of Mamadi Doumbouya, the head of Guinea’s junta, who established himself as president after seizing power in a coup in 2021.

These competitions have become widespread in the West African country as political alliances are formed and Doumbouya considers a possible candidacy for president in the upcoming election.

An extended period of transition

President Alpha Conde had appointed the then-colonel to lead an elite squad that was supposed to defend the head of state from such coups, but Doumbouya overthrew him in September 2021 and took power by force.

He has now stated that he will not return power to a civilian government by the end of 2024, despite his vow to do so under pressure from other countries.

The military officer “exceptionally” rose through the ranks, first becoming a lieutenant general in January and then an army general last month.

Doumbouya has been in charge of a continuous crackdown on dissent, which has resulted in the detention, legal proceedings, or exile of numerous opposition figures.

Read Also: Insecurity: Former defence Chief alls for overhaul of Nigeria’s security system

No junta member was allowed to run in either municipal or national elections, according to a “transitional charter” that the junta drafted shortly after the coup.

However, Doumbouya’s supporters have recently stated that they will support him in the upcoming presidential election.

Authorities announced at the end of September that 2025 will see elections aimed at reestablishing constitutional order.

Even with its abundance of natural resources, Guinea is nevertheless a poor country.

Authoritarian regimes have dominated it for many years.

Since 2020, a number of officers, including Doumbouya and other military leaders in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, have taken control of West Africa.

About 200,000 people live in N’Zerekore, the southeast Guinean region where the conflicts occurred.