A football match in N’Zerekore, Guinea, turned tragic on Sunday as clashes between fans left dozens dead, according to hospital sources. Witnesses described harrowing scenes of mass carnage, with bodies overwhelming the hospital and morgue facilities.
“There are around 100 dead,” a hospital doctor said anonymously, while another reported “dozens of fatalities.” Videos circulating online, though unverified, depicted chaos on the streets and lifeless bodies scattered on the ground.
The violence allegedly began after a referee’s contested decision, leading fans to invade the pitch. Protesters later vandalized and set fire to the local police station, according to eyewitness accounts.
The match was part of a tournament honoring Guinea’s junta leader, Mamadi Doumbouya, who has held power since a 2021 coup. These tournaments are seen as a political strategy by Doumbouya, who is eyeing a potential bid in presidential elections despite prior commitments to a civilian-led government.
N’Zerekore, a city of about 200,000, has become a focal point of tensions in Guinea, a nation grappling with poverty, authoritarian rule, and rising political unrest under the junta’s regime.
