CAIRO: Violence broke out in Khartoum following the World Cup qualifier between Egypt and Algeria as Algerian fans attacked a bus carrying Egyptians, according to news and television reports.
Egynews.net reported Thursday that a fleet of 25 airplanes carried some 4,000 Egyptian fans back home between 4 and 11 am on Thursday, among them 20 fans injured in the violence following the match.
The injured mainly suffered from bruises in the face, arms and chest, with a couple suspected to have a fractured foot and thigh. Nine of them were transferred to Nasser Institute and Heliopolis and Al Safa hospitals. The remaining 11 received first aid in the airport and were immediately released, according to the news report.
Algerian fans attacked a bus carrying Egyptian journalists, actors and singers, breaking its windows and leaving some injured after the match, singer Mohamed Fouad told Orbit satellite TV show “Al-Qahera Al-Youm over the phone.
The attacks came after Algeria beat Egypt 1-0, earning a spot in the World Cup.
Other public figures who called in to the popular TV show also claimed that Sudanese authorities had closed the airport, leaving Egyptian fans unprotected outside.
Mohamed Abdel-Meguid, spokesman for the Sudanese police, had said the gates would be open in time for Egyptians to board their flights.
Minister of Information Anas El-Fiqqy, also in a phone interview with “Al-Qahera Al-Youm, said that, “If authorities in Khartoum cannot the Egyptians there, Egypt will dispatch forces to protect its citizens.
Egyptian fan Abdel Rahman Magdy, who had flown to Sudan to attend the match told Daily News Egypt: “As we were leaving the stadium towards the airport, we heard what we thought was a bullet but then we found out that it was a stone. suddenly we were being pelted with stones by Algerian fans and by the time we reached the airport the windows on our bus were all broken; everyone was frightened even the driver.
Algerian Ambassador Abdel Kadr Hegazy said that it is the Sudanese government’s responsibility to put an end to the violence in a phone interview with “Da’eret El-Doaa, an Egyptian TV program.
Foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said in a statement that the ministry called for a meeting with the Algerian ambassador Thursday.
The ministry accused the media on both sides of fueling the tensions between both countries, singling out Qatar’s Al-Jazeera for stirring up emotions among fans by broadcasting a documentary on the history rivalry between Egypt and Algeria, as if they were about to wage war against each other.
The ministry called on both governments to resolve the issue.
In a statement issued by Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), the council condemned violations committed against Egyptians both in Algeria and Sudan.
The attacks may have been in retaliation for an alleged stone-throwing attack on the Algerian team’s bus when in arrived for the previous game in Cairo on Saturday, which left two players injured and were seen with head bandages during the game which they lost 2-0.
In the meantime in Paris, according to Agence France-Presse news agency, more than 60 football fans were arrested when they smashed windows and threw bottles on the Champs Elysees after the game.
About 12,000 people turned out on the Champs Elysees to celebrate Algeria’s win but police intervened when some revelers began throwing bottles and other projectiles, a Paris police spokesman told AFP.
In all, 63 people were arrested and four shop windows were smashed on the Champs Elysees.
