Violence at Cairo football match leaves at least 22 dead

Twenty-two people were killed outside an Egyptian soccer match yesterday when security forces barred fans from entering the stadium, the public prosecutor’s office said.

Most of the dead were suffocated when the crowd stampeded after police used teargas to clear the fans trying to force their way into a league match between two Cairo clubs, Zamalek and Enppi, doctors and witnesses said.

Soccer matches are often a flashpoint for violence in Egypt, where 72 fans were killed at a match in Port Said in February 2012. Since then Egypt has curbed the number of people allowed to attend, and supporter groups have often tried to storm stadiums they are banned from entering.

The public prosecution ordered the arrest of the leaders of the Zamalek supporters group, Ultras White Knights, after yesterday's incident, official media reported. On their Facebook page, the Ultras White Knights described the 22 dead as "martyrs" and accused security forces of a "massacre". – (Reuters)