Egypt troops, soccer fans clash; teen dies
Source: Agencies |
March 25, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
EGYPTIAN soldiers and police clashed with thousands of angry soccer fans in a Suez Canal city over the suspension of their club following a deadly riot last month, witnesses said yesterday. A medical official said a teenager was killed.
The February 1 riot in the city of Port Said in which at least 73 people died was the world's worst soccer-related disaster in 15 years. The causes remain murky.
Officers have been charged with assisting Port Said soccer fans to attack supporters of a Cairo club who have a long history of enmity with the police, and some port residents have claimed that hired outsiders were responsible for much of the killing.
In the latest clashes, Egyptian troops fired volleys of tear gas and shot into in the air to disperse protesters affiliated with Port Said's al-Masry club, angry for what they see as unfair measures against their club and their city. Violence erupted late on Friday and continued until early yesterday.
Witnesses said that protesters set fire to tires, blocked major roads and then gathered in front of the Suez Canal's main administrative building in an attempt to storm it. Soldiers and police cordoned off the building.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said teenager Belal Mamdouh was killed with a gunshot to the back while 25 were injured, mostly because of breathing difficulties from tear gas.
The clashes erupted after the Egyptian Football Association on Friday officially suspended al-Masry for two seasons ending in 2013, and closed its stadium for three years as punishment for the stadium riot.
The February 1 riot began minutes after the final whistle in a league match between Cairo club al-Ahly, the most popular in Egypt, and al-Masry. The home side won 3-1, but fans were upset at what they said were obscene signs raised by the visiting al-Ahly fans.
Survivors of the stadium riot say men wielding batons, knifes, and fireworks streamed from al-Masry stands and stormed the field to attack al-Ahly fans, stabbing them, undressing them and tossing them off bleachers while the police looked on.
Egypt's general prosecutor charged 75 people, including nine senior police officers, with assisting the attackers from al-Masry stands.
The February 1 riot in the city of Port Said in which at least 73 people died was the world's worst soccer-related disaster in 15 years. The causes remain murky.
Officers have been charged with assisting Port Said soccer fans to attack supporters of a Cairo club who have a long history of enmity with the police, and some port residents have claimed that hired outsiders were responsible for much of the killing.
In the latest clashes, Egyptian troops fired volleys of tear gas and shot into in the air to disperse protesters affiliated with Port Said's al-Masry club, angry for what they see as unfair measures against their club and their city. Violence erupted late on Friday and continued until early yesterday.
Witnesses said that protesters set fire to tires, blocked major roads and then gathered in front of the Suez Canal's main administrative building in an attempt to storm it. Soldiers and police cordoned off the building.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said teenager Belal Mamdouh was killed with a gunshot to the back while 25 were injured, mostly because of breathing difficulties from tear gas.
The clashes erupted after the Egyptian Football Association on Friday officially suspended al-Masry for two seasons ending in 2013, and closed its stadium for three years as punishment for the stadium riot.
The February 1 riot began minutes after the final whistle in a league match between Cairo club al-Ahly, the most popular in Egypt, and al-Masry. The home side won 3-1, but fans were upset at what they said were obscene signs raised by the visiting al-Ahly fans.
Survivors of the stadium riot say men wielding batons, knifes, and fireworks streamed from al-Masry stands and stormed the field to attack al-Ahly fans, stabbing them, undressing them and tossing them off bleachers while the police looked on.
Egypt's general prosecutor charged 75 people, including nine senior police officers, with assisting the attackers from al-Masry stands.
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