Mass Funeral Held For Riot Dead In Egyptian Town
Thousands turned out Sunday in the Egyptian city of Port Said for a mass funeral for 35 people killed Saturday in anti-government rioting.
As NPR's Dana Farrington wrote on the blog Saturday, the violence broke after an Egyptian court sentenced 21 people to death for their role in a deadly soccer riot last year.
NPR's Leila Fadal reported on the events for our Newscast unit. Here's what she says:
"The streets of the northeastern city of Port Said erupted with wails and calls for the toppling of Egypt's Islamist-led government. Men carried coffins of the dead killed on Saturday during rioting that was sparked by the death sentence of 21 soccer fans convicted for participating in sport-related violence.
"Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi has yet to address the nation since anti-government protests began on Friday and were compounded by the violence in Port Said. More than 30 people were killed in the city yesterday and at least nine people in protests the day before.
"Egypt's opposition called for more anti-government demonstrations and demanded early presidential elections. They called for a boycott of the upcoming parliamentary elections and amendments to Egypt's new constitution."
The Associated Press reported that violence broke out briefly during Sunday's funeral when "some in the crowd fired guns and police responded with volleys of tear gas." More than 100 people were injured.
There was also a funeral in Cairo, the capital, for two policemen who were killed in the Port Said violence.
9(MDA3NTMxNzU0MDEzMDYzNDg1ODZlOWE4OQ004))
