At least 56 supporters died this Sunday, December 1, in a crowd movement during a football match dedicated to the head of the junta that rules Guinea, the government said this Monday, December 2, with the opposition accusing the power to be “directly responsible” for the tragedy.
The events in N'Zérékoré, first presented as clashes between supporters, were triggered by the expulsion of a player at the end of the game between the local club and that of Labé in the final of a tournament organized in the honor of the head of the junta, General Mamadi Doumbouya, witnesses said.
“Unfortunate event”
Supporters invaded the field. Witnesses indicate that some attacked the official platform, provoking the intervention of security forces. “The demonstrations of dissatisfaction with the arbitration decisions led to stone throwing by supporters, causing deadly stampedes,” the government said in a statement read on national television. “Hospital services report a provisional toll of 56 dead and several injured,” he adds, speaking of a “tragic event.”
He ensures that care for the injured is “guaranteed” and “is committed to supporting bereaved families”. “The government assures (the) population that investigations will be carried out to establish responsibilities linked to this unfortunate event,” he said. The government calls on the population to remain calm and local authorities to “take all necessary measures” in this regard.
Young people set fire to a police station in the night, public television said. “The government is monitoring developments in the situation and reiterates its call for calm so that hospital services are not hampered in providing first aid to the injured,” Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah said on his Facebook page. Doctors reported at least dozens of deaths on Sunday.
A promotional campaign
Many videos have circulated on social networks showing numerous inert bodies lying next to each other. They also show scenes of great confusion, with people fleeing and running near what appears to be the stadium. Online media reported hospital services and a morgue saturated by the influx of injured people and bodies.
The events occurred during a tournament dedicated to the head of the junta, who forcibly overthrew civilian President Alpha Condé in September 2021 and has since been inaugurated president, the press reported.
Such football competitions, the number one sport in Guinea, and other popular or public gatherings have been organized for several weeks in what is widely considered to be a campaign to promote General Doumbouya's candidacy for a future presidential election.
“Cynical” instrumentalization
The National Front for the Defense of the Constitution, one of the last dissident voices still able to be heard in Guinea, expressed in a press release its “indignation” after the tragedy of N'Zérékoré.
The FNDC speaks of a “propaganda campaign”. He “holds Mamadi Doumbouya and his government (for) directly responsible for this catastrophe which cost the lives of innocent citizens, including many children”. “This demonstrates a cynical exploitation of sport by the junta, exploiting these images of mobilization for political ends,” he adds.
He calls on Guineans “to mobilize, calmly, with determination, to demand the end of this regime from December 31, 2024”. The junta initially pledged, under international pressure, to give way to elected civilians before the end of 2024. It has since indicated that it would break its promise. Several supporters of Mamadi Doumbouya recently said they were in favor of his presidential candidacy.
