Egyptians began three days of mourning Thursday for the 79 people who perished at a violent soccer riot, as the nation's fledgling parliament erupted in anger over the national tragedy.
The speaker of the parliament ordered an end to a live broadcast of Thursday's parliament session, so heated was the debate. But the order was retracted after angry lawmakers made their objections known.
A deputy of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party demanded the resignation of the interior minister, holding him responsible for the loss of lives. Another deputy accused security guards of allowing fans to bring weapons into the stadium in Port Said.
A committee will investigate the circumstances that caused the deadly riot Wednesday at the match pitting Cairo's Al-Ahly team against Al-Masry of Port Said.It remained unclear whether the riots were ignited by intense sporting rivalry or political strife. Egyptians just marked the one-year anniversary of their revolution that toppled the longtime dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak.
In Cairo's Tahrir Square, somber protesters, many dressed in popular Al-Ahly club attire, decried Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces even though Field Marshall Mohamed Tantawi had tried to allay their fears.
"This period, I assure you, will be peaceful. Egypt will be stable again," Tantawi said in a statement released to Egyptian media. "The military council is executing a road map to transfer the authority to an elected civilian entity. ... Whoever has any plot against Egypt will not succeed."
Prime Minster Kamal Ganzouri suspended Port Said's security chief and the head of police investigation. The two men will face a probe. Ganzouri also accepted the resignation of the Port Said governor.
When the referee blew the final whistle, the score was Al-Masry 3, Al-Ahly 1. Thousands of Al-Masry fans stormed the pitch despite their home team's hard-fought victory.
Rival fans attacked one another with rocks and chairs. Many of those who died fell from bleachers inside the stadium, said Ahmed Saeed, an official from the Port Said governor's office. Others suffocated.
"The police did nothing to stop it," Al-Ahly supporter Amr Khamis told CNN at the train station in Cairo after returning from the match. His head was bandaged after an Al-Masry fan beat him with a stick, he said.Authorities contributed to escalating the violence, said Mamdouh Eid, executive manager of the Al-Ahly fans committee.
"The police stood there watching, and the ambulances arrived late. I carried several dead fans in my arms," he said.
The violence is one of the world's worst sporting disasters and prompted officials to suspend indefinitely Egypt's football premier league.An interior ministry official said, however, that the fans stoked tensions during the entire match.
"There were organized groups in the crowds that purposely provoked the police all through the match and escalated the violence and stormed onto the field after the final whistle," said Gen. Marwan Mustapha of Egypt's interior ministry. "Our policemen tried to contain them, but not engage."
At least 47 people were arrested after the clashes, he said.
Gen. Ismail Osman, a member of Egypt's military council, told Mehwar TV Thursday that the military and police were not responsible for what happened.
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