(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - An Egyptian parliamentary inquiry into the country’s recent soccer stadium tragedy in the northern city of Port Said has blamed both police and football fans for the deaths of 74 people, a lawmaker says.
On Sunday, the preliminary results of the investigation into the deaths partially supported the view of those Egyptians who believed the mayhem in Port Said was the outcome of a plot devised by elements within the establishment seeking to generate chaos.
Head of the inquiry, Ashraf Thabet said that the instigators of the incident had used thugs and hardcore soccer fans to take "advantage of the tension surrounding the game to achieve some political gains."
"We will announce their names," he added.
Thabet also enlisted frenzy created by sports TV channels as one of the causes of the deadly incident, which sparked off several days of violent protests in which 16 more people were killed.
The violent clashes occurred on February 1 at the end of a match between supporters of Port Said team, al-Masry, and Cairo's leading club, al-Ahly, leaving 74 people dead and over a thousand injured.
Many Egyptians, including some lawmakers, have blamed police and the country's ruling junta for failing to prevent the violence.
On Friday, tens of thousands of Egyptians protested across the country against the military rulers, who took power following the mass protests that toppled the former dictator Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.
They held rallies in the capital, Cairo, coastal city of Alexandria, northeastern seaport city of Suez, and in many other towns in the country, calling for the incompetent ruling junta to hand over power to civilian leaders.
“The people want the overthrow of the Marshal,” activists chanted during the protest march towards the Defense Ministry in Cairo, referring to Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who heads the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF).
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On Sunday, the preliminary results of the investigation into the deaths partially supported the view of those Egyptians who believed the mayhem in Port Said was the outcome of a plot devised by elements within the establishment seeking to generate chaos.
Head of the inquiry, Ashraf Thabet said that the instigators of the incident had used thugs and hardcore soccer fans to take "advantage of the tension surrounding the game to achieve some political gains."
"We will announce their names," he added.
Thabet also enlisted frenzy created by sports TV channels as one of the causes of the deadly incident, which sparked off several days of violent protests in which 16 more people were killed.
The violent clashes occurred on February 1 at the end of a match between supporters of Port Said team, al-Masry, and Cairo's leading club, al-Ahly, leaving 74 people dead and over a thousand injured.
Many Egyptians, including some lawmakers, have blamed police and the country's ruling junta for failing to prevent the violence.
On Friday, tens of thousands of Egyptians protested across the country against the military rulers, who took power following the mass protests that toppled the former dictator Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.
They held rallies in the capital, Cairo, coastal city of Alexandria, northeastern seaport city of Suez, and in many other towns in the country, calling for the incompetent ruling junta to hand over power to civilian leaders.
“The people want the overthrow of the Marshal,” activists chanted during the protest march towards the Defense Ministry in Cairo, referring to Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who heads the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF).
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