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Protests over the military’s handling of last week’s deadly soccer riot continued into a fourth day in Egypt, with demonstrators and riot police squaring off against one another in Cairo and elsewhere on Sunday, according to media reports.
“This is a disaster for all of Egypt,” Basma El -Husseiny, a protester, told Ahram Online, referring to the riot that took place at the soccer stadium on Wednesday, which left more than 70 dead. “We needed to show our outrage over the events, and our continuous stance against military rule.”
In central Cairo, the tax authority building was set on fire and street protests continued until early Sunday morning, reported Al-Jazeera television. On Saturday, riot police fired tear gas and pellets at protesters, while demonstrators threw rocks and other objects at officers.
Many of the protesters believe that the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which has ruled the country since the fall of longtime President Hosni Mubarak’s regime last February, were responsible for instigating the deadly soccer riot.
“Those who didn’t deserve to die have died at the hands of those who don’t deserve to live,” read a huge banner held by protesters in Cairo, according to Al-Jazeera. Many protesters have called on the ruling military government to step down from power.
Egypt’s health minister on Saturday told Al-Araibya that at least 12 people have been killed in Cairo and in the city of Suez after the protests erupted over the soccer riots.