Clashes between fans during a football match in Guinea, more than 100 people died

Fans clashed during a football match in Guinea's second-largest city N'Jerekor. Dozens of people were killed in the clash. Hospital sources told AFP about the incident on Sunday.

A doctor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "As far as the eye can see in the hospital, bodies are lying in rows. Others are lying on the floor in the corridor. The morgue is full."

100 people died in fans' clash

He said about 100 people have died, local hospitals and morgues are full of bodies. Another doctor said dozens of people have died.

Videos circulating on social media show scenes of chaos on the street outside the match and a large number of bodies lying on the ground, which AFP could not immediately confirm.

According to eyewitnesses, angry protesters also vandalized and set fire to the N'Jerekor police station.

An eyewitness told AFP, it all started with a controversial decision by the referee. Then the fans invaded the field. They asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.

There was a coup in 2021

Local media said the match was part of a tournament held in honor of Guinea's junta leader Mamadi Doumbouya, who seized power in a coup in 2021 and made himself president.

Doumbouya seized power by force in September 2021 by ousting President Alpha Conde, who put the then colonel in charge of an elite force tasked with protecting the head of state from such coups.

He had promised to hand power back to the civilian government by the end of 2024 under international pressure, but now he has made it clear that he will not do so.

The military leader promoted himself to the rank of lieutenant general in an extraordinary manner in January and last month he promoted himself to the rank of army general.

Doumbouya has presided over an ongoing crackdown on dissent, which saw many opposition leaders detained, arraigned before courts or forced into exile.

A "transitional charter" drawn up by the junta shortly after the coup stated that no member of the junta could stand in national or local elections.

But Doumbouya's supporters have recently expressed their support for his candidacy in the next presidential election.

In late September, authorities indicated that elections aimed at restoring constitutional order would be held in 2025.

Despite its abundant natural resources, Guinea remains a poor country.

It has been ruled by authoritarian governments for decades.

Doumbouya is one of several officials who have held power in West Africa since 2020, along with fellow military leaders in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

N'Zerekore, in Guinea's southeast, where the clashes broke out, has a population of about 200,000.