By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
CONAKTY (Worthy News) – Scores of people were killed and several injured in a stampede at a soccer stadium in southern Guinea following clashes between fans sparked by anger over the referee’s decision, the government confirmed Monday.
At least 56 people, including children, reportedly died in the bloodshed during the final of a soccer tournament in honor of Guinea’s military leader Mamady Doumbouya at a stadium in Nzerekore, one of the West African nation’s largest cities.
Communications Minister Fana Soumah said on national television that authorities are investigating who was responsible for Sunday’s stampede.
“Protests of dissatisfaction with refereeing decisions led to stone-throwing by supporters, resulting in fatal stampedes” at Sunday’s match, the government added. “Hospital services have put the provisional death toll at 56.”
Witnesses said rival fans stormed the field following the controversial referee decision. Footage reviewed by Worthy News showed people running in panic while a man was seen carrying a chair.
Health officials spoke about dozens of dead bodies piling up. “There are bodies lined up as far as the eye can see in the hospital,” a doctor said. “Others are lying on the floor in the hallways. The morgue is full.”
Paul Sakouvogi, a local journalist in the area, said authorities restricted internet access while police guarded the hospital. “I observe six police positions in front of three hospital entrances.”
MEDICAL TREATMENT
He suggested that it was difficult for survivors to learn about their loved ones receiving medical treatment. “They only allow medical staff to access the hospital, while others are told to go home,” the reporter said.
The tragedy added to social and political upheaval in Guinea, with the National Alliance for Alternation and Democracy opposition coalition saying the tournament to increase support for the “illegal and inappropriate” political ambitions of Doumbouya.
The military has led Guinea 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 taken power and delayed a return to civilian rule.
Doumbouya, who ousted the president three years ago, claims he is preventing the country from slipping into chaos and condemns the previous government for “broken promises.”
He has been criticized for not fulfilling his pledges in this mainly Muslim nation of nearly 14 million people, where Christians comprise roughly 13 percent of the population.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said an agreement between Iran and the United States may be the best path to ending Israeli military operations in Lebanon, while defiantly rejecting any outside demand that the Iranian-backed terrorist group disarm.
U.S. federal prosecutors announced criminal charges Tuesday against the operator of the cargo ship that struck and destroyed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in 2024, killing six construction workers.
Inflation increased 0.6% in April, with an overall rate of 3.8% over the last 12 months, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
More than two years after the deadliest terrorist attack in Israel’s history, the Knesset has approved legislation establishing a special military tribunal to prosecute terrorists accused of participating in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
The United States has been holding regular negotiations with Denmark and Greenland to expand America’s military presence on the strategic Arctic island, according to the BBC citing multiple officials familiar with the talks.
Federal authorities have charged more than 25 members and associates of Tren de Aragua, the violent Venezuelan-born criminal network recently designated by the Trump administration as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, in a sweeping nationwide crackdown aimed at dismantling the gang’s expanding footprint inside the United States.
The United Arab Emirates has carried out military strikes directly on Iranian soil, according to an exclusive report by The Wall Street Journal — a revelation that marks a seismic shift in the Persian Gulf balance of power and places a major Arab Gulf monarchy squarely in the role of active combatant against the Islamic Republic of Iran.