WATCH | Guinea Nzerekore football riot deaths: Scary videos of violence, overflowing morgues and politics, what we know so far

The chaos following a field invasion and violence by fans claimed several lives in Guinea's second-largest city of Nzerekore on Sunday, media reports said. A stampede is said to have killed around 100 people and dead bodies are being brought to fast-filling morgues, local health professionals told the press. 

The West African nation is holding a football tournament honoring Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, the military leader who seized power in 2021. The incident happened when two teams representing Labe and Nzerekore met in the afternoon before a packed stadium.

According to reports, the away fans started behaving violently after a refereeing decision went against their team. They threw rocks at the referee before invading the pitch in large numbers, BBC said in a report. Security personnel fired tear gas at the crowd, which ultimately caused a stampede in which many people lost their lives. 

However, Guinea is yet to explain what led to the violence and how many people were killed in all. Prime Minister Bah Oury said on X that his government would publish a press release once it had all the relevant information on the "unfortunate incidents."

"The government deplores the incidents that marred the football match between the Labe and Nzerekore teams this afternoon in Nzerekore. The regional authorities are working to restore calm and serenity among the population. The government is monitoring the development of the situation and reiterates its call for calm so that hospital services are not hindered in providing first aid to the injured," the Prime Minister's post said.

Videos doing rounds on social media showed people scaling walls to move away to safety while many lay motionless on the ground. Local social media users called the football game "politically charged", a context that is being analyzed by THE WEEK.  These users also said that several children were among the victims of the unfortunate incident. 

A doctor on the ground reportedly told news agency AFP that dead bodies were being lined up at the local hospital as the morgue was full. 

Nzerekore is the second largest city in Guinea which is home to  200,000 people.