March 5, 2013 -- Updated 1918 GMT (0318 HKT)
At least four people were killed and hundreds more were injured in
clashes in the volatile city of Port Said, Egypt's health ministry said,
as the March 9 verdict date neared for defendants involved in a deadly
soccer riot. FULL STORY
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VIDEO
March 5, 2013 -- Updated 0041 GMT (0841 HKT)
Egyptian protesters clash with security forces in Port Said late on March 3, 2013.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Witnesses say a government security building was set ablaze
- 4 killed, hundreds injured as Egyptian city Port Said erupts again
- Violence is growing as verdict nears for dozens of people accused in deadly riot at 2012 soccer game
- Some people in Port Said have long resented Cairo
More than 150 of those hurt were still in the hospital as of noon local time, ministry spokesman Dr. Yehya Moussa said.
A government security building was set ablaze as police and protesters clashed, witnesses said.
The violence snowballed
throughout the weekend, as a March 9 verdict date neared for 52
defendants involved in a deadly riot at a soccer game in February 2012.
Map: Port Said, Egypt
Twenty-one defendants
already have been sentenced to death for their alleged roles in the
so-called "massacre at Port Said," when 74 people were killed and 1,000
injured after the Port Said-based al-Masry team defeated Cairo's al-Ahry
13 months ago.
Soccer fans in the
restive Egyptian city also clashed with security forces and torched a
police station Saturday, according to the interior ministry. The Green
Ultras, fans of al-Masry, are often in the middle of political violence.
Egypt's Port Said at boiling point
Port Said rages against Morsy
Reports surfaced that
amid the weekend tumult, soldiers fought with police. And the state-run
MENA news agency reported two of the those killed Monday were army
conscripts. But a spokesman for Egypt's armed forces denied any conflict
between the uniformed personnel.
"It is completely untrue
that armed forces units in Port Said exchanged fire with police forces
during the clashes," Col. Ahmed Ali posted on his Facebook page Sunday
night.
Port Said, in northeastern Egypt, near the Sinai Peninsula, has had a tense relationship with Cairo dating back about 60 years.
Many residents of Port
Said felt Egyptian security forces didn't adequately defend the city
during the series of wars with Israel that began with the Jewish state's
creation in 1948 and ended after the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.
In addition, some Port
Said residents say the central government doesn't invest enough of the
tax dollars it reaps from international ships traveling through the Suez
Canal back into in Port Said.
Journalist Sarah Sirgany and CNN's Reza Sayah, Amir Ahmed and Jill Dougherty contributed to this report.
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