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Stampede at Liberian church event kills 29


People gather outside the Redemption hospital near Monrovia, Liberia, on Thursday where stampede victims were receiving treatment. Associated Press via Augustine D Wallace

Stampede at Liberian church event kills 29

Hundreds of church members had gathered for an all-night crusade at a football field in Liberia’s capital city of Monrovia on Wednesday night when an attack on the crowd triggered a deadly stampede. People trampled over each other to flee the area, many leaving their shoes and other belongings behind. Among the 29 dead were 11 children and a pregnant woman, and others were critically injured. Liberia’s President George Weah declared three days of national mourning.

Who attacked the crowd? A gang of thugs wielding knives and cutlasses assaulted some of the worshippers as they gathered to listen to a popular preacher, Pastor Abraham Kromah. Street gangs that commit robberies have become more widespread in Monrovia and other Liberian cities. Weah called for better regulations over such gatherings, including a limit on the number of attendees based on the size of the location.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift on a stampede that occurred last year at an Israeli religious festival.


Onize Ohikere

Onize is WORLD’s Africa reporter and deputy global desk chief. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate and earned a journalism degree from Minnesota State University–Moorhead. Onize resides in Abuja, Nigeria.

@onize_ohiks


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