Hospital sources told AFP that dozens of people were murdered in fan confrontations at a football game in N’Zerekore, Guinea’s second-largest city, on Sunday. The bloodshed was described as widespread.
“The hospital is lined with bodies as far as the eye can see. Others lie in the corridors on the floor. “The morgue is full,” a doctor stated under anonymity as he lacked the authority to address the media.
Bodies were crammed into the local morgue and hospital, and he claimed that “there are around 100 dead.” There were “dozens of dead,” according to a different doctor.
Videos that went viral on social media, but which AFP couldn’t confirm right away, showed a lot of bodies on the ground and commotion in the street outside the game.
The N’Zerekore police station was also set on fire and vandalized by angry protesters, according to witnesses.
The referee’s disputed judgment was the beginning of it all. A witness told AFP, “Then fans invaded the pitch,” requesting that his identity be kept anonymous for security reasons.
The game was part of a competition held in honor of Mamadi Doumbouya, the leader of Guinea’s junta, who took over in a coup in 2021 and proclaimed himself president, according to local media.
In the West African country, these competitions have become more frequent as political coalitions are formed and Doumbouya considers a possible candidacy for president in the upcoming election.
An extended period of change
In September 2021, Doumbouya forced his way to power by toppling President Alpha Conde, who had appointed the then-colonel to lead an elite army that was supposed to defend the head of state from similar coups.
In response to pressure from around the world, he promised to return control to a civilian administration by the end of 2024, although he has subsequently stated that he would not.
Last month, the military officer rose to the position of army general after “exceptionally” promoting himself to lieutenant general in January.
Doumbouya has overseen a continuous crackdown on dissent, leading to the detention, legal proceedings, or exile of numerous opposition figures.
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In a “transitional charter” drafted soon after the coup, the junta stated that none of its members may run in local or national elections.
Recently, however, Doumbouya’s supporters have stated their support for him running for president in the upcoming election.
In late September, officials announced that elections aimed at reestablishing constitutional order will take place in 2025.
Despite having abundant natural resources, Guinea is nonetheless a poor country.
It has spent decades under the control of dictatorial regimes.
Several officers, including Doumbouya and other military leaders in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, have taken control of West Africa since 2020.
Approximately 200,000 people live in N’Zerekore, the southeast region of Guinea where the conflicts occurred.
