Death toll rises in Egypt protests

The number of protesters killed in clashes with security forces in the wake of a deadly football riot in Egypt has risen to seven, security officials said today.

Five people were killed yesterday in the port city of Suez after security officers opened fire on several thousand protesters outside police headquarters.

Two were also killed in the capital Cairo, where security forces used tear gas and birdshot to disperse thousands rallying outside the interior ministry.

The protesters accuse the police of failing to prevent the violence after Wednesday’s football game in Port Said that killed 74 people.

Protesters had turned the rallies in Cairo and Suez into a call for Egypt’s ruling military council to surrender power because of what they say is the army’s mismanagement of the country’s transition to democracy. More rallies are planned.

About 3,000 people had demonstrated in front of the Suez police headquarters and officers fired tear gas and live ammunition, witnesses said.

In Cairo, rallies spiralled into violent clashes between the protesters and police as demonstrators charged toward the interior ministry, which oversees the police. Thousands threw rocks, and police responded with tear gas and birdshot.

The interior ministry yesterday urged the protesters in a statement “to listen to the sound of wisdom ... at these critical moments” and prevent the spread of chaos.

The 74 deaths in a post-match stadium riot in Port Said fuelled anger at Egypt’s ruling military generals and the already widely distrusted police force. The police were notorious as the key tool of oppression of the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in a popular uprising last February.

Many in the public and in the newly elected parliament blamed the new leadership for letting the football riot happen – whether due to a lack of control by the security forces, or as some allege, intentionally.

The violence began after the Port Said club, Al-Masry, scored a surprise 3-1 victory over Cairo-based Al-Ahly, Egypt’s most powerful club. Al-Masry fans stormed the field, rushing past lines of police to attack Al-Ahly’s supporters.