157 injured in Egypt’s Port Said clashes

At least 157 people have been injured in clashes between Egyptian police and demonstrators in the Suez Canal city of Port Said.

On Sunday, Egyptians took to the streets in the port city where they threw stones at security forces. In response, police used tear gas to disperse the angry demonstrators. According to an unnamed military official, protesters also set fire to police vehicles.

The protesters want justice for at least 40 people who have lost their lives in clashes with Egyptian police last month. Violence erupted in several Suez Canal cities after a judge sentenced 21 local people to death for their roles in February 2012 football riot in Port Said in which 74 people were killed and 1,000 others injured.

On Saturday, a similar protest took place in Port Said where some 500 protesters hurled stones and petrol bombs at the police station in the city, setting it ablaze. According to the reports, outraged protesters also prevented fire engines from reaching the burning building.

Last month, a political activist in the Mediterranean port city Ahmad Mutwalli issued a statement saying that “The disobedience will … continue if the protesters’ calls for the death sentence for the killers of martyrs are not granted.”

The Egyptians launched the revolution against the pro-Israeli regime on January 25, 2011, which eventually brought an end to Mubarak’s 30-year-long dictatorship on February 11, 2011.