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About 135 people were killed in a clash at a soccer stadium in southeastern Guinea on Sunday, a local rights group said, putting the estimated death toll at more than double the official toll of 56.
A controversial refereeing decision sparked crowd violence and police tear gas during the match in the town of Nzerekore, leading to a deadly melee as spectators tried to flee.
A collective of human rights groups in the Nzerekore region said on Tuesday that their higher estimate was based on information from the hospital, cemeteries, witnesses at the stadium, victims' families, mosques, churches and the local press.
The dead were 'mostly children': rights groups
“We now estimate that 135 people died in the stadium, mostly children under the age of 18,” it said in a statement, adding that more than 50 people were still missing.
The group accused security forces of using excessive tear gas and prioritizing the protection of officials over spectators.
He also said vehicles carrying officials and others fleeing the stadium hit spectators as they tried to escape from what was described as an overcrowded venue whose door had been blocked by security forces.
He said he held the organizers of the tournament as well as Guinea's ruling junta responsible because they provided technical and financial support for the event in honor of military leader Mamadi Dumbuya.
The government, which on Monday promised to launch an investigation, did not respond to the group's statement.
