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Subscribe to RSSOn the second anniversary of the Arab Spring revolution in Egypt, protesters clashed and dozens were killed outside a jail. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.
PORT SAID/CAIRO - At least 30 people were killed on Saturday when Egyptians rampaged in protest at the sentencing of 21 people to death over a soccer stadium disaster, violence that compounds a political crisis facing Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
Armored vehicles and military police fanned through the streets of Port Said, where gunshots rang out and protesters burned tires in anger that people from their city had been blamed for stadium deaths last year.
The rioting in Port Said, one of the most deadly spasms of violence since Hosni Mubarak's ouster two years ago, followed a day of anti-Morsi demonstrations on Friday, when nine people were killed. The toll over the past two days stands at 39.
The flare-ups make it even tougher for Morsi, who drew fire last year for expanding his powers and pushing through an Islamist-tinged constitution, to fix the creaking economy and to cool tempers enough to ensure a smooth parliamentary election.
That vote is expected in the next few months and is meant to cement a democratic transition that has been blighted from the outset by political rows and street clashes.
Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
Al Ahly fans, also known as "Ultras", celebrate and shout slogans in front of the Al Ahly club after hearing the final verdict of the 2012 Port Said massacre in Cairo Saturday.
The National Defense Council, led by Morsi and which includes the defense minister who commands the army, called for "a broad national dialogue that would be attended by independent national characters" to discuss political differences and ensure a "fair and transparent" parliamentary poll.
The statement was made on state television by Information Minister Salah Abdel Maqsoud, who is also on the council.
The National Salvation Front of liberal-minded groups and other opponents cautiously welcomed the call but demanded any such dialogue have a clear agenda and guarantees that any deal would be implemented, spokesman Khaled Dawoud told Reuters.
The Front spurned previous calls for dialogue, saying Morsi ignored voices beyond his Islamist allies. The Front earlier on Saturday threatened an election boycott and to call for more protests on Friday if demands were not met.
Its demands included picking a national unity government to restore order and holding an early presidential poll.
Threats of violence
The political statements followed clashes in Port Said that erupted after a judge issued a verdict sentencing 21 men to die for involvement in the deaths of 74 people after a local soccer match on February 1, 2012, many of them fans of the visiting team.
Visiting fans had threatened violence if the court had not meted out the death penalty. They cheered outside their Cairo club when the verdict was announced. But in Port Said, residents were furious that people from their city were held responsible.
Protesters ran wildly through the streets of Mediterranean port, lighting tires in the street and storming two police stations, witnesses said. Gunshots were reported near the prison where most of the defendants were being held.
A director for Port Said hospitals told state television that 30 people had been killed, many as a result of gunshot wounds. He also said the more than 300 had been wounded.
Inside the court, families of victims danced, applauded and some broke down in tears of joy when they heard Judge Sobhy Abdel Maguid declare that the 21 men would be "referred to the Mufti", a phrase used to denote execution, as all death sentences must be reviewed by Egypt's top religious authority.
There were 73 defendants on trial. Only a handful appeared in court in Cairo. Those not sentenced on Saturday would face a verdict on March 9, the judge said.
At the Port Said soccer stadium a year ago, many spectators were crushed and witnesses saw some thrown off balconies after the match between Cairo's Al Ahly and local team al-Masri. Al Ahly fans accused the police of being complicit in the deaths.
The fans, who call themselves "Ultras Ahlawy", said Saturday's ruling started the process of retribution, and hoped the rest would face the same fate when verdicts are issued on March 9.
Among those killed on Saturday was a former player for al-Masri and a soccer player in another Port Said team, the website of the state broadcaster reported.
Mohammed Nouhan / AP
Families and supporters of those accused of soccer violence from the Port Said soccer club react to the announcement of death sentences for 21 fans.
Teargas rains down
On Friday, protesters angry at Morsi's rule had taken to the streets for the second anniversary of the uprising that erupted on January 25, 2011 and which brought Mubarak down 18 days later.
Police fired teargas and protesters hurled stones and petrol bombs. Nine people were killed, mainly in the port city of Suez, and hundreds more were injured across the nation.
On Saturday, some protesters again clashed with police. In the capital, youths pelted police lines with rocks near Tahrir Square. In Suez, police fired teargas where protesters angry at Friday's deaths hurled petrol bombs and stormed a police post.
"We want to change the president and the government. We are tired of this regime. Nothing has changed," said Mahmoud Suleiman, 22, in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the cauldron of the 2011 anti-Mubarak revolt and near where youths again stoned police.
Port Said, Ismailia and Suez, which have witnessed some of the worst violence in the past two days, lie on the Suez Canal but a canal official said there was no disruption to shipping through the waterway vital to international trade.
Morsi's opponents say he has failed to deliver on economic pledges or to be a president representing the full political and communal diversity of Egyptians, as he promised.
"Egypt will not regain its balance except by a political solution that is transparent and credible, by a government of national salvation to restore order and heal the economy and with a constitution for all Egyptians," prominent opposition politician Mohamed ElBaradei wrote on his Twitter account.
Morsi's supporters say the opposition does not respect the democracy that has given Egypt its first freely elected leader.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled Morsi to office, said in a statement that "corrupt people" and media who were biased against the president had stirred up fury on the streets.
The political schism between Islamists and secular Egyptians and frequent bouts of violence have hurt Morsi's efforts to revive an economy in crisis as investors and tourists have stayed away, taking a heavy toll on Egypt's currency.
Mustapha Kamal Al-Sayyid, a professor of political science at Cairo University, said the latest violence reflected the frustration of many liberal-minded Egyptians and others.
"The state of polarization between Islamists and others is most likely to continue and will have a very negative impact on the state's politics, security and economy," he said.
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If we can promote world wide soccer in the Middle East eventually they will kill each other and we can save our bombs for more peaceful uses
What is it about soccer and ensuing pandemonium? I dost ponder this. Is it because of the nature of the game? Incessant back&forth kicking/passing/heading but nothing comes of it? All that effort expended for a 1-0 score leaving the fans with all this pent up energy and frustration? I don't get it. It's a damn game for Pete's sake! Maybe they should outlaw soccer.
There's no reward for ignorance. What is it about Baseball and riots at the winner's home town. I can see wrath out of frustration or at a loss....but why do we Americans go on a rampage while celebrating? Must be that pent up sexual frustration handed down by that Evangelical upbringing.
So much for democracy in the middle east. Perhaps if they had modeled their election on the US with the Electoral College things might have been different. They would get an Obama. The whole movement is fueled by the "Islamic extremists" as they have been designated. These Islamic extremists are trying to get Islamic law established all over Africa and the middle east. We don't approve of the codes of Islamic laws and while we preach tolerance of other faiths they do not. These people are tying to impose religion onto the population. Since all of the fighters are Muslim and the ultimate objective is to establish Muslim rule how can you say it is not a holy war.They, Muslim extremists, have even declared Jihad or holy war. The only common link is that the fighters are all Muslim with the intent of spreading the Islamic religion throughout Europe and the middle east. They plan to overthrow every government in their way. We can no longer back "freedom fighters" against established functioning governments. We know what to expect of the government in power. Can or should we back a religous revolution that is intollerant of others and wants to kill all Infidels?
Wade, that was a "tougue in cheek" statement when you said they would get an Obama wasn't it?
Right wingers, control your appetite for blood and violence. If you want us to get bogged down in another country, may I suggest you send your children first, then all members of the NRA> Mr. La Pierre said the only way to stop a "bad" guy with a gun, is a "good" guy with a gun.
yeah you sound like someone who would gladly walk into one of hitler's showers.
According to your post, it's your clay footed idol Obama who is a right winger! He is the one supporting the blood and violence of his friends, the muslim brotherhood!
They should quite spending all this money on Egypt, and fix Mooochelle's teeth!!!!
This is the result of Obama's new Middle East policy....support change, not stability. What a jerk!
BILL you obviously support dictatorships, yet you bitch at our Commender in Chief and for what, may I ask? Perhaps you hate him for he supports freedom.
You must be one stupid @!$%#ing idiot. Enjoy the next four years with our great President or move to Canada dickhead. Enjoy
Obama's policy in the Middle East is a complete failure. Al Qaeda, who is dead according to Biden, is now operating in all of Northern Africa; Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Mali. The MB is controlling Egypt, Gaza, and Turkey, and trying to take over Jordan, while Syria is a meeting point of all the extremist Islamist groups. Since Obama will be in charge for the next four years, he will need to deal with the mess he created, or maybe with the aid of the slobbering MSM he will be able to blame Bush.
Bill, you are so full of crap that your eyes are brown. this has nothing to do with foreign policy.You and your lame repubtards are washed up because you coddled up to these same regimes for decades and slept with the oil producing sheiks as well. You righties make Americans sick with your lame and misplaced arguments.
yhbua............At another time, I think Obama could have been a great president. I like him. I like his leadership style. But he has been badly out of his depth with his anti business administration. He has squandering our fortune and our future.
It is our economic system that has made this country great... not our government.
I can see the beef people have on Coptic Christains, they always fuss and complain.
Bill, I'm doing much better than you perhaps. So far, in the last three months the market has generated over $107,000 in actual profits with just three stocks: Citigroup, Bank of America and short selling Apple.
Bush wrecked mi investments twice....give me Obamanomics any day. BTW his anti business attitude has generated their best earnings in many years. Problem with you and many other BO's critics is that you hate his social agenda trying to help the poor and middle classes, yet you dive into social issues as soon as the GOP or Tea Party control State legislatures, from abortion to contraception.
yhbua....I'm not a republican. I'm closer to a tea bager, disgusted with the way government works. I see Republicans as the right wing of the Democratic party. Having said that, I see the democratic party as a huge conglomerate of single issue voters. The issue really isn't important to the party, but their vote is. The payback is special protection/opportunely legislation which becomes the social agenda. I know it is more complicated then this and that some real good has resulted from some of it but.....
I don't wish less for any man, I just would like a little more for me.
Thank God we won't be listening to the shrill and cackling Sarah Palin ranting about our "socialist, communist, terrorist sympathizer" President as being the cause of this upheaval. THE WITCH HAS BEEN FIRED BY FOX- TOO EXTREME, LAZY AND WITH LOW RATINGS.
NOw if you Demosocialists would only see the same disfunction in Mr. Rachel Maddow.
Mooochelle is lazy, and would not make it on the Losers only " MSNBC"
RACHEL MADDOW
A graduate of Castro Valley High School[17] in Castro Valley, California, she attended Stanford University. While a freshman, she was outed by the college newspaper when an interview with her was published by the student newspaper before she could tell her parents.[18] Maddow earned a degree in public policy from Stanford in 1994.[19] At graduation she was awarded the John Gardner Fellowship.[20] She was also the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship and began her postgraduate study in 1995 at Lincoln College, Oxford. This made her the first openly gay or lesbian American to win an international Rhodes scholarship.[21][22] In 2001, she earned a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in politics from Oxford University.[23] Her thesis is titled HIV/AIDS and Health Care Reform in British and American Prisons (supervisor: Dr Lucia Zedner).
It took Palin 6 mediocre or crappy colleges to get her degree. Yet the dumb witch can't speak or recite cohesive sentences like a normal person. I guess she was expelled from various colleges for spreading STD's all over campus.
But what do I know, you conservatives hate science and the pursuit of knowledge and settle for shooting a miserable gun at the local gun club's gallery
they should start putting these soccer wackos across the globe to death when they take a game and turn it into a death trap.
And we thought the fans in philadephia were bad!
Uhoh Soccer is related to deaths....we better ban that too!!
And odumbo is sending tanks and planes to these savages.
It looks like another good tourism poster to me! Let's put it right up there with the tour bus poster from India. I just can't decide which country to visit first. They are simply just head and shoulders above the other "so called" civilized countries! Lands of quiet peace and serene enjoyment. I truly need a vacation...
there should be separation of church and state.This is what happens when the church is included in the state.
obama just gave them a couple of billions more in weapons to use against their own citizens or others in the area.
With a little effort he can dump as many borrowed american tax dollars into egypt as he gives the lousy paki's...
This country is broken...
In this part of the world they the citizens have no experience with democracy as they have had autocratic rulers for thousands of years. When the binds are loosened they become nothing more than street thugs of anarchy. Mubarek, love him or hate him, and his predecessors held these tribal instincts in check. Now, unleashed they cannot govern or control themselves and will plunge into a Somalia like situation unless someone takes over again as in the days of colonialism and reigns with a firm and unrelenting hand.
Democracy is flawed in one very important way. The electorate can vote in panderers, with out integrity, who promise to raid the public treasury in the form of entitlements in exchange for their votes.
When that happens you have a situation such as America finds itself in today. We are likely facing civil unrest in the decades to come as a result of the out or control spending...
What is going on in Egypt? They have gone bat-ass crazy over there.
no different than the overwhelming gun violence in U.S.A. that many are killed everyday. And we think those people are barbarians?
yes let's lock away the gang banger and throw away the key, but you john probably blame the gun huh.....
It sure seems headlines like "22 killed, 200 injured in clashes over soccer" seem to happen much more often in Crazyville aka The Middle East. And I love the headline picture. I've rarely seen a more kooky looking group of people. The Middle East would make the world such a better place without the people who live there. Just leave the oil.
Unfortunately, we dismantled all our neutron bombs as part of the SALT II treaty . . .
All joking aside, this is a human tragedy for those killed at the soccer match and then during the subsequent violence after the court ruling. However, I wonder if the left wingers of Egypt will now push to ban soccer matches, arms with which people can throw others from the stands and legs with which people can trample others?
I say avoid the issues. Ban Soccer matches!! This happens all over. People getting hurt or killed after soccer matches. Maybe the testosterone is too much for the fans to handle. But, when there is clear evidence of intentional injury and/or death, the laws have to apply. So, they are so much better off under the current regime? I remember how excited our media was to see the transition. I looked at my husband and said" And this is so much better, why?"
Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.
they have 22 dead from soccer violence and we have that many dead every day from gun violence...which is worse. Repubtards and righties will not see a connection in violence but there are similaries of the end result!
Where are the great Pharohs of Egypt now that their people need them? What a legacy they have left their people who fight bitterly over soccer game results.
Let us hope that the New Egyptian Constitution doesn't contain a 2nd Amendment. Instead of throwing the oponent's fans off balconies, they could gun them down with semi-automatic assault weapons, the American way.
you're an idiot, go back to sipping your latte, you wimp
Stupid people dieing over a stupid game... What a waste...!!
Sports fans, Sheesh. I guess it's as good of an excuse as any. Kinda like bombing all those people with the imaginary weapons of mass distruction.
This American criminal government right on top of this one so they can again sale Military weapons to the Brothers, HOOD>>O-Abomination willing to Arm every Rebel group, terror group out there today. Now we know why O-Abomination is giving 20 F-16 and Tanks to Egypt's Muslim Brother, HOODS... Getting ready for wars there too,,Funny how all these criminal governments work together today to suppress the people and take their rights and liberties away. Now working in their deceptions and lies to do the same to our country. I wonder what rebels they will Arm in America when they decide to Invade our homes. Probably the ones calling for the extinction of all white men women and children that are from his old church..Then we see how they like Arming terror groups in other nation, they will do the same here in America when it fits their agenda, O-abominations agenda to conform or die..
Ban soccer in Middle Eastern and African countries. Just ban it altogether -- wait, that's what the Taliban wants to do!!!
Thank you Obama and Clinton for "Arab Spring." What a wonderful accomplishment. We have an old saying, "let sleeping dogs lay." I'll explain that to you liberals if you would like.
The saying is actually "Let sleeping dogs lie", but you have to be speaking English, not the three-tooth dialect version of Alabamian.
As memory serves, the Egyptian people removed Hosni Mubarek. Remember all the demonstrations in Tahir Square? All we did was decline to support him militarily.
Agnomad74
You seem to forget that obama greeted the new Dic-Tator with Open arms and started sending him Billions in Money and Weapons... Obama said How much good the new leader was going to HELP the country...
Remember Obama Backs the MB With OUR TAX DOLLARS...