The curfew will begin this evening at 21.00 in Suez, Port Said and Ismalia and will last 30 days. Arab Spring protests mixed with football hooliganism. The death toll is 50 dead and nearly 500 injured.

Cairo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has proclaimed a curfew in the districts of Port Said, Suez and Ismalia, after four days of violence that has killed 50 people. The measure will begin this evening at 21.00 (local time) and will last approximately 30 days. "Prior to my election - said the president - I said I was opposed to resort to extraordinary measures, but the security of the nation is in danger and it is time to act." "The violence of recent days - he continued - has nothing to do with the revolution. Instead, it is the 'ugly face' of a counter-revolution."

Since last January 25, the second anniversary of the Jasmine Revolution, Egypt has been in the grip of severe tensions. For three days, hundreds of thousands of people protested in major Egyptian cities - Cairo, Alexandria, Assuit, Port Said, Suez, Sharqiya, Kafr al-Sheikh - calling for the end of the Islamist establishment and a true democracy. The most serious clashes took place in Suez, where eight people were killed. The protests of the young democratic movements overlapped with the violence of football hooligans linked to the death sentence handed down to 21 people over the Port Said massacre took place on 2 February 2012. On 26 January, the family of the condemned and supporters of Al-Masri - the local team whose fans are responsible for the deaths of 73 supporters of the opponent al-Ahly (Cairo team) - tried to storm the police stations. 32 people died in clashes. Yesterday, at the funeral of the victims, hooligans and police again clashed on the streets of Port Said, adding seven more dead and 450 wounded to the toll.

 

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