Dozens dead in Egypt as fighting continues over football riot verdicthttp://bit.ly/10WWZCN
11:46 AM - 26 Jan 13 · Details
Dozens dead in Egypt as fighting continues over football riot verdict
The death toll in Egypt's Port Said has reached 26 as fighting raged following death sentences given to 21 people following a football riot last year.
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"Twenty six people were killed and 277 injured," said Adbelrahman Farag, the head of Port Said hospitals.
Two policemen were among those killed, the interior ministry said, adding that there were "many critical injuries among police forces."
The clashes erupted after a Cairo court handed down the death sentence to 21 football fans and club members over the football riot last February in which 74 people were killed, and came a day after violence swept Egypt on the second anniversary of its uprising.
As news of the verdict emerged, relatives of those condemned tried to storm the prison in Port Said where they are being held, leading to fierce clashes with security forces.
Unidentified assailants used automatic weapons against police who responded with tear gas, witnesses said.
Two police stations in Port Said were stormed, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent said, and heavy gunfire could be heard in the Al-Manakh neighbourhood.
Ambulances ferried the injured to hospitals and all shops and businesses closed for the day as protesters set tyres alight and mosques urged worshippers to donate blood.
Troops are being sent to Port Said, a senior army officer said.
"It has been decided to deploy some units to work for calm and stability and the protection of public establishments," General Ahmed Wasfi said in a statement carried by the official MENA news agency.
Two policemen were among those killed, the interior ministry said in a separate statement, adding that there were "many critical injuries among police forces."
Egypt's opposition threatened to boycott upcoming parliamentary polls if President Mohamed Morsi – facing his worst crisis since coming to power in June – does not find a "comprehensive solution" to the unrest gripping the country.
The National Salvation Front, the main coalition of parties and movements opposing the ruling Islamists, called for, among other things, the creation of a "national salvation" government, otherwise it will "not participate in the next parliamentary elections."
Two policemen were among those killed, the interior ministry said, adding that there were "many critical injuries among police forces."
The clashes erupted after a Cairo court handed down the death sentence to 21 football fans and club members over the football riot last February in which 74 people were killed, and came a day after violence swept Egypt on the second anniversary of its uprising.
As news of the verdict emerged, relatives of those condemned tried to storm the prison in Port Said where they are being held, leading to fierce clashes with security forces.
Unidentified assailants used automatic weapons against police who responded with tear gas, witnesses said.
Two police stations in Port Said were stormed, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent said, and heavy gunfire could be heard in the Al-Manakh neighbourhood.
Ambulances ferried the injured to hospitals and all shops and businesses closed for the day as protesters set tyres alight and mosques urged worshippers to donate blood.
Troops are being sent to Port Said, a senior army officer said.
"It has been decided to deploy some units to work for calm and stability and the protection of public establishments," General Ahmed Wasfi said in a statement carried by the official MENA news agency.
Two policemen were among those killed, the interior ministry said in a separate statement, adding that there were "many critical injuries among police forces."
Egypt's opposition threatened to boycott upcoming parliamentary polls if President Mohamed Morsi – facing his worst crisis since coming to power in June – does not find a "comprehensive solution" to the unrest gripping the country.
The National Salvation Front, the main coalition of parties and movements opposing the ruling Islamists, called for, among other things, the creation of a "national salvation" government, otherwise it will "not participate in the next parliamentary elections."
