Soccer Riots Rage Around Egypt Ministry

Three more die as police reportedly fire on protesters in Cairo, Suez
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 3, 2012 9:56 AM CST
Soccer Riots Rage Around Egypt Ministry
Egyptian protestors climb the exterior of a building that caught fire during clashes with security forces near the Interior Ministry in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Feb. 3, 2012.   (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

Three people were killed by police fire today in Egypt, in the second day of protests over Wednesday's bloody soccer riot in Port Said. Police reportedly fired tear gas and birdshot into crowds in Cairo, as protesters swarmed around the hated Interior Ministry, the AP reports. One of the dead was killed just feet away from the Ministry, and died of birdshot wounds; the other two were shot by live rounds outside police headquarters in Suez.

Thousands more protesters are expected today, because 28 youth activist groups have declared a "Friday of Rage," according to Reuters. Protesters are convinced the military purposely allowed the riots to happen in retaliation for the active part al-Ahly's fans have played in recent protests. "The military is taking revenge on us," one told the New York Times. Egypt's newly elected lawmakers agree; 120 of them, including senior Muslim Brotherhood members, have demanded charges against the interior minister. (More Egypt stories.)

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