Egypt mourns football clash dead
Baku, February 2 (AZERTAC). Egypt`s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has announced three days of national mourning after at least 74 people died in clashes between rival football fans in the city of Port Said.
Hundreds more were injured as fans invaded the pitch after a match between top-tier clubs al-Masry and al-Ahly.
Emergency meetings of the cabinet and parliament have been called.
Protest marches are being planned for Thursday against the police`s inability to contain the violence.
"People are angry at the regime more than anything else... People are really angry, you could see the rage in their eyes," Mohammed Abdel Hamid, a fan, said.
Hundreds gathered at Cairo`s main railway station to receive the injured and the first bodies arriving from Port Said, with some chanting slogans against military rule.
Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of Egypt`s ruling army council, went to an airbase near Cairo to meet al-Ahly players who were flown back from Port Said on a military aircraft.
"This will not bring Egypt down... These incidents happen anywhere in the world. We will not let those behind it go," he said, according to Associated Press.
It is the biggest disaster in the country`s football history, said the Egyptian deputy health minister.
"This is unfortunate and deeply saddening," Hesham Sheiha told state television.
Some of the dead were security officers, the Associated Press news agency quoted a morgue official as saying.
Witnesses said the atmosphere had been tense throughout the match - since an al-Ahly fan raised a banner insulting supporters of the home team.
As the match ended, their fans flooded onto the pitch attacking al-Ahly players and fans.
A small group of riot police tried to protect the players, but were overwhelmed.
Part of the stadium was set on fire.
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