In Egypt, deadly soccer rioting escalates

CAIRO -- Police fired salvos of tear gas and birdshot Friday at rock-throwing protesters in Cairo as popular anger over a deadly soccer riot spilled over into a second day of street violence that left at least five people dead and more than 1,500 injured nationwide, officials said.

The protesters blame the police for failing to prevent a melee after a soccer match in the Mediterranean city of Port Said on Wednesday that killed 74 people in the soccer world's worst violence in 15 years. Tensions across the nation have spiked in the wake of the riot, fueling anger at the ruling generals who took power after the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak last February.

Egyptians furious over the bloodshed took to the streets Friday in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and several Nile Delta cities, in many cases sparking clashes with security forces.

In the capital, protesters wearing helmets and gas masks fought their way through streets thick with smoke from tear gas toward the Interior Ministry, a frequent target for demonstrations because it is responsible for the police. As night fell, a government building across the street from the Interior Ministry caught fire, sending black smoke billowing into the sky.

In response to the crisis, the ruling military council issued a statement late Friday saying the country is passing through "the most dangerous and most important phase in Egypt's history," and calling on Egyptians to unite in the face of discord.

Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri urged Egypt's intellectuals to intervene to stop the violence and said on the Cabinet's Facebook page that he feared the protesters want to storm the Interior Ministry.