Dozens of people were killed on Sunday in skirmishes between football supporters in N’Zerekore, Guinea’s second largest city, according to hospital sources, who described scenes of horrific devastation.
“There are bodies lined up as far as the eye can see in the hospital. Others are lying on the floor in the hallways. The mortuary is full,” one doctor said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
He said, “There are around 100 dead,” with bodies filling the local hospital and morgue. Another doctor said there were “dozens of dead.”.
Videos circulating on social media, which AFP could not immediately verify, showed commotion in the street outside the football match venue and multiple people on the ground.
Witnesses reported that angry demonstrators vandalised and set fire to the N’Zerekore police station.
“It all started with a contested decision by the referee. Then fans invaded the pitch,” a witness told AFP, asking that his name be withheld for safety reasons.
According to local media, the incident was part of a competition honouring Guinea’s junta leader, Mamadi Doumbouya, who took power in a coup in 2021 and has since become president.
Such football tournaments have grown regular in the West African country as Doumbouya considers a bid in the presidential elections next year and political alliances emerge.
Doumbouya took power by force in September 2021, deposing President Alpha Conde, who had put the then-colonel in charge of an elite squad tasked with guarding the head of state from such coups.
Under international criticism, he promised to relinquish control back to a civilian government by the end of 2024 but has subsequently stated that he will not.
In January, the military chief “exceptionally” promoted himself to lieutenant general, then last month, to army general.
Doumbouya has presided over a continuous crackdown on dissent, with several opposition leaders imprisoned, hauled to court, or forced into exile.
A “transitional charter” draughted by the junta shortly after the coup stated that no junta member could run in national or local elections.
However, Doumbouya’s supporters have recently indicated their support for his candidacy in the upcoming presidential election.
At the end of September, officials announced that elections to restore constitutional order will be held in 2025. Despite its abundant natural resources, Guinea remains a poor country.
It has been dominated by authoritarian regimes for decades. Doumbouya is one of numerous commanders who have taken power in West Africa since 2020, joining fellow military leaders in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
The town of N’Zerekore in Guinea’s southeast is home to approximately 200,000 people.
