Clashes erupt at Port Said funerals

 Reports say at least a hundred people have been hurt, including four with bullets, after police clashed with thousands of mourners who turned out for the funerals of more than 30 victims of yesterday’s violence in Port Said in Egypt.

Saturday’s riots erupted after a Cairo court handed down death sentences to 21 Port Said football supporters on charges of instigating last year’s clashes at a football match.according to Voice of Russia.

The situation in Egypt remains tense as the country’s opposition continues to hold protest rallies against the regime. Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi canceled his planned visit to Ethiopia, where he was due to take part the African Union’s summit scheduled for January 27. Also, he recalled Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil from the Swiss city of Davos, where he participated in the World Economic Forum.

Additionally, Morsi held an emergency meeting of the National Defense Council which announced the country’s right to impose a state of emergency in those districts that were hit by armed clashes. On Saturday night, unrest was reported in Cairo, Suez, Alexandria and Port Said, where dozens of people were killed and hundreds more injured.

The standoff between Morsi supporters and the opposition shows no signs of abating as Egypt’s National Salvation Front has demanded the creation of a national salvation government. Morsi, for his part, made it plain that he will only sit down for talks with Egypt’s independent politicians.

M.D