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About 50 football fans, including children, were killed on Sunday during a stampede during a match at a crowded stadium in southern Guinea’s biggest city of Nzerekore, according to local media and a coalition of political parties, as security forces tried to quell the clashes.
The stampede broke out on Sunday afternoon during the final of a local tournament between the teams of Labe and Nzerekore, played in honor of Guinea’s military leader Mamadi Doumbouya.
Guinea’s Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah said on Casualties were recorded during the stampede.”
Regional authorities are working to restore calm to the area, he added.
A coalition of political parties known as the National Alliance for Alternation and Democracy said in a statement that the stampede resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries.
Local media reported that security forces tried to use tear gas to restore calm after the chaos that followed a controversial punishment.
“This (the controversial penalty) angered supporters who threw stones. This is how the security forces used tear gas,” local Media Guinea reported.
According to the report, some of the dead are children, while some of the injured who are being treated at a regional hospital are in critical condition.
Videos appearing to be from the scene showed part of the stadium shouting and protesting at the officials before clashes broke out, as fans poured onto the pitch. People ran as they tried to escape the stadium, many of them jumping over the high fence.
Videos also showed many people lying on the ground in what appeared to be a hospital as a crowd gathered nearby, some helping the injured.
The National Alliance for Change and Democracy coalition called for an investigation. It said the tournament was organized to show support for the military leader’s “illegal and inappropriate” political ambition.
Guinea has been led by the military since soldiers ousted President Alpha Conde in 2021.
It is one of a growing number of West African countries, including Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, where the military has seized power and delayed the return to civilian rule.
Doumbouya overwhelmed the president three years ago, saying he prevented the country from falling into chaos and chastising the previous administration for broken promises. However, he was criticized for not living up to the expectations he had raised.
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