Deadly clashes in Egypt sparked by football verdicts

PORT SAID: Street clashes killed at least 30 people in Egypt's Port Said on Saturday after 21 supporters of a local football club were sentenced to death over a bloody stadium riot in the canal city.

The violence comes a day after nine were killed in protests against
President Mohamed Morsi on the second anniversary of Egypt's uprising against predecessor Hosni Mubarak, in the worst crisis Morsi has faced since taking power in June.

Minutes after a Cairo court handed down the sentences against fans of Port Said side Al-Masry over the deaths of 74 people during post-match violence last February, protesters rampaged through the city, attacking police stations and setting tyres alight.

Relatives of those condemned tried to storm the prison in Port Said where they are being held, leading to fierce clashes with security forces.

Unidentified assailants used automatic weapons against police who responded with tear gas, witnesses said.

At least 30 people died and 312 were wounded, the health ministry said. The interior ministry said two policemen were among those killed.

Medics told AFP all the fatalities were from gunfire.Crowds stormed two police stations as heavy gunfire crackled through the city, where shops and businesses had closed, an AFP correspondent said.

Ambulances ferried the injured to hospitals and mosques urged worshippers to donate blood.

The army deployed troops to restore calm and protect vital public
buildings, military sources and witnesses said.

Clashes also erupted in the nearby canal city of Suez, where at least eight people were killed in fighting on Friday.

Protesters attacked a police station, freeing 25 detainees and seizing
weapons, security sources said.

The opposition, meanwhile, threatened to boycott upcoming parliamentary polls if Morsi does not find a "comprehensive solution" to the unrest.

The National Salvation Front, the main coalition of parties and movements opposing the ruling Islamists said it would "not participate" in the polls unless a "national salvation" government is formed.

Meanwhile Egypt's national defence council, which is headed by Morsi,
appealed for calm and called for a dialogue with "independent national figures" to settle political differences and agree on a mechanism for the polls.