Angry soccer fans storm Egyptian ministry
New clashes a threat to military rule
Thousands of angry sports fans besieged the Egyptian Interior Ministry on Thursday to avenge 74 deaths in riots over a soccer match the previous night, as political forces seized on the tragedy to renew demands for the ouster of the military-appointed interim government.
As Egypt declared three days of mourning for the victims of the riots, many of the country’s senior political figures issued a joint statement saying the mayhem that erupted Wednesday night after the popular al-ahly team’s loss to a rival squad was the result of official negligence.
Tearful soccer fans and their sympathizers tore down part of a security barrier outside the interior ministry and lobbed rocks at riot police in clashes that continued well into the night. Authorities responded with volleys of tear gas in scenes reminiscent of heavy fighting in November. By late evening, the health ministry said, more than 100 people were wounded.
“We either die like them or we avenge them!” the protesters chanted as they tore through barbed wire and concrete blocks sealing off the ministry in downtown Cairo.
The fury on display Thursday reflected how deeply the previous day’s melee has shaken ordinary Egyptians, who expressed sympathy for the victims’ families and anger over the lack of security since the collapse of former president Hosni Mubarak’s police state. Wednesday’s riots were the single deadliest incident since Mubarak’s resignation last year, and blame immediately was directed at the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and its transitional cabinet.
At least 74 people died and 388 were wounded Wednesday, according to the Egyptian Health Ministry, in clashes among opposing fans that began after al-ahly’s loss to the home team in Port Said, a commercial hub about 225 kilometres northeast of Cairo. Video footage showed young men attacking one another with rocks, blades and pipes. Witnesses said a locker-room was used as a morgue.
Doctors said hundreds more may have been injured and uncounted, as many of the wounded didn’t seek medical treatment and fled the scene. Survivors who joined Thursday’s march decried the government’s perceived negligence in the incident. Video footage from Wednesday’s match showed security forces standing by as the clashes raged.
“I couldn’t believe that I was alive until I reached Cairo,” said Hassan Ali, 55, who said he carried his son on his shoulders as they escaped the scene in Port Said and travelled back to the capital.
“There was security, yes, but they didn’t do anything,” Ali said. “There were all types of light weapons you can imagine.”
The military council went into damage-control mode, sending military planes to transport wounded fans and players to safety. One channel reported that the council’s chief, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, personally received the shaken passengers upon arrival at a military landing strip in Cairo.