Port Said riot death rise to 32
At least 32 people have been killed and over 300 injured in clashes over an unpopular court verdict in the Egyptian city of Port Said.
On Saturday, a judge sentenced 21 local people to death for their roles in a football riot in Port Said in which 74 people were killed and 1,000 others injured in February 2012.
The court verdict sparked deadly clashes between security forces and supporters of the defendants.
The rioters, many armed with weapons, attacked police stations, fired guns, and hurled rocks at the security forces.
According to a security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the clashes left 32 people dead, including two policemen. Many died from gunshot wounds, he added.
The official said 312 civilians and members of the security forces were also injured.
Meanwhile, nine people were killed by gunfire during clashes between police and protesters in Suez on Friday, which was the second anniversary of the beginning of the revolution that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak.
Thousands of Egyptians staged demonstrations in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez, Port Said, and many other cities and towns to call on President Mohamed Morsi, who took office in June 2012, to fulfill his election promises.
The protesters demanded that Morsi provide them with a pay rise, official contracts, and better working conditions.
The Egyptians launched the revolution against the pro-Israeli regime on January 25, 2011, which eventually brought an end to the 30-year dictatorship of Mubarak on February 11, 2011.
Police clashed with the protesters in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez, Port Said, Giza, Ismailia, Damietta, and Kafr el-Sheikh.
Many activists also chanted slogans criticizing Morsi and accusing him of acting too slowly to meet their demands.