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
After the Fifth Circuit last month allowed Texas’ border security law, SB 4, to go into effect, another federal court has now blocked four of its provisions.
Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend their ceasefire by 45 days as the United States pushes forward with a broader diplomatic framework aimed at securing the volatile northern border and preventing renewed conflict with Hezbollah.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would be “the first person” to support Vice President JD Vance if Vance seeks the Republican presidential nomination in 2028, even as early polling continues to place both men among the leading names in the GOP’s post-Trump future.
Ukraine launched one of its largest drone barrages of the war against Russia overnight, killing at least four people — including three near Moscow — and wounding more than a dozen others, officials said Sunday.
Nigeria and the United States confirmed Saturday that they had killed a senior Islamic State group leader during what officials described as a major joint counterterrorism operation in northeastern Nigeria.
Bulgaria won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time Saturday, while Israel finished second in a final overshadowed by boycotts and protests over Israel’s participation amid the war in Gaza.
Italian authorities say a man deliberately drove a car into a crowd late Saturday in the northern Italian city of Modena, injuring at least eight people — four of them seriously — in the latest violent vehicle attack in a series of similar incidents across Europe.