Multiple lifeless bodies, scattered in the dirt. The final of a football tournament in support of the junta turned into tragedy in Nzérékoré, southern Guinea, this Sunday, when the authorities violently repressed a crowd of angry supporters. The circumstances of the tragedy are still unclear, as are the toll, currently estimated at dozens of deaths.
“There are around a hundred dead. Bodies are lined up as far as the eye can see in the hospital. Others are lying on the floor in the corridors. The morgue is full,” said a doctor at the regional hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak. “There are dozens of deaths,” according to another doctor.
According to journalists present on site, the match, which pitted the Nzérékoré team against that of Labé, degenerated when supporters attacked the referee and began throwing stones on the field. The security forces then fired tear gas, causing a huge crowd movement towards the only exit from the stadium. Some died of asphyxiation, others were crushed.
