Mourning and Sacking following Egypt Football Massacre

Local Editor

A man reading qura'n on Thursday next to the body of his brother, who was killed at Port Said stadium. Egypt announced three days of national mourning following the horrible football massacre that claimed the lives of 74 people and injured hundreds others. The rioting in the northern city of Port Said on Wednesday night marked one of the deadliest incidents in football history and sent shares on the Cairo stock exchange plunging in Thursday trade. Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzuri told an emergency session of parliament on the tragedy that the Egyptian football association's director and management board had been sacked, as had the Port Said security chief. Ganzuri added that the governor of Port Said had resigned his post and his resignation accepted. LACK OF SECURITY Angry members of parliament denounced the lack of security at the match and gathered for an emergency session on Thursday. "Egypt went through a difficult night yesterday. Egypt spent its night crying [over] its dead," parliament speaker Saad Katatni said in the session's opening remarks. Clashes erupted as soon as the referee blew the final whistle in a match which saw home team Al-Masri beat Cairo's Al-Ahly 3-1. Al-Masri fans flooded the pitch, throwing rocks, bottles and fireworks at Al-Ahly supporters, causing chaos and panic as players and fans ran in all directions trying to flee, witnesses said. Photos of bleeding players circulated on the Internet. Gunfire was also reported on the main road leading to Port Said from Cairo, and troops were deployed to prevent further clashes. Egypt's interior minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, said many of the victims had died in a crush of people at the stadium. At least 52 people have been arrested and authorities said the search for suspects linked to the violence was continuing. RALLIES Activists scheduled rallies for Thursday outside the headquarters of the interior ministry in Cairo to protest against the inability of police to stop the bloodshed. In Port Said, residents marched early on Thursday, denouncing the violence and saying it was a conspiracy by the military and police to cause chaos. Egypt had witnessed, since former president Hosni Mubarak was ousted last year, rallies against the ruling military Council. Mubarak was ousted last February following a popular uprising that left hundreds dead. The former president is now on trial. He has been accused of ordering police to kill protesters.

Source: Agencies

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