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Egyptian football fans killed after rioting in Cairo

Egyptian firefighters deal with disturbances at the Cairo stadium on Sunday
Image: Egyptian firefighters deal with disturbances at the Cairo stadium on Sunday

At least 25 people died in clashes between football fans and police in Cairo on Sunday night, according to Egyptian state media.

Egypt's public prosecutor issued a statement ordering an investigation. The Cabinet convened an emergency meeting to discuss the violence, Egypt's state television said.

Some reports suggested that trouble erupted on Sunday night when security forces barred fans from entering a stadium.

Two Cairo clubs Zamalek and Enppi were playing each other and police used teargas to disperse the crowd, according to security forces. The health ministry said 20 people were injured but did not confirm any death.

Doctors in Cairo said the deaths were due to suffocation. A witness said some of the fans were killed in a stampede after the police fired teargas.

A statement from the interior ministry read: "Huge numbers of Zamalek club fans came to Air Defense Stadium to attend the match and tried to storm the stadium gates by force, which prompted the troops to prevent them from continuing the assault."

Zamalek fans, known as "White Knights," posted on their Facebook page that the violence began because authorities only opened one narrow, barbed-wire door to let them in. They said that sparked pushing and shoving that later saw police officers fire tear gas and birdshot.

A fan who tried to attend the game spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of being targeted by police and said that the stampede was caused by police who fired tear gas at the tightly packed crowd.

He said: "Those who fell down could not get back up again."

Egypt has restricted the number of people allowed into football matches since a riot at a stadium in Port Said in February 2012 when 74 fans were killed.

Later that year, angry fans burned down the headquarters of Egypt's Football Association, protesting its decision to resume matches before bringing those behind that 2012 riot to justice.

Since then, supporter groups have often tried to storm grounds that they are banned from entering.

Relations between security forces and certain fan groups have been tense since the 2011 popular uprising that ended  the rule of Hosni Mubara in which the Ultras groups played a key role.

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