Conflicting reports have emerged regarding the death toll from the tragic incident in N’zérékoré, Guinea, during the final of a football tournament held in honor of General Doumbouya.
While official sources have reported 56 fatalities, local human rights organizations claim the true number is significantly higher.
The Regional Collective of Human Rights NGOs has stated that 135 people, predominantly under the age of 18, lost their lives in the December 1 tragedy.
This figure, they assert, was derived from eyewitness accounts, hospital records, and burial reports from local community leaders.
“The information we collected from the N’zérékoré hospital, the 22 district chiefs, and the cases of burials that took place on December 2 have led us to estimate that 135 people, mostly under 18 years old, died on December 1, 2024,” said Emmanuel Fassou Sagno, president of the collective, in remarks reported by RFI.
The tragedy has also left 50 individuals unaccounted for, according to the collective, raising further concerns about the full scope of the incident.
The circumstances surrounding the event, including what triggered such a devastating outcome during what should have been a celebratory occasion, remain unclear.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has responded to the incident, though details of their statement or actions have not been made public yet.
The organization’s involvement highlights the broader implications for the region’s football community and the need for urgent measures to prevent such occurrences in the future.
As the government and NGOs present starkly different accounts of the death toll, calls for an independent investigation are likely to intensify.
The tragedy has cast a shadow over the tournament and prompted questions about event safety and crowd management in Guinea.
