Five die, 1,500 injured as police fire on protestors

Police in Cairo fired salvos of tear gas and birdshot at rock-throwing protesters as popular anger over a deadly football riot spilled over into a second day of street violence that left five people dead and more than 1,500 injured, doctors and health officials said.

In response to the crisis, the ruling military council issued a statement late last night, saying the country is passing through “the most dangerous and most important phase in Egypt’s history,” and calling on Egyptians to unite.

The protesters blame the police for failing to prevent the melee after a soccer match in the Mediterranean city of Port Said on Wednesday killed 74 people.