At least 20 killed as riot breaks out at Egypt football match

CAIRO — A riot broke out Sunday night outside of a major football game in Egypt, with fighting between police and fans killing at least 20 people, security officials said.

The riot, only three years after similar violence killed 74 people, began ahead of a match between Egyptian Premier League clubs Zamalek and ENPPI at Air Defence Stadium east of Cairo. Such attacks in the past have sparked days of violent protests pitting the country's hard-core fans against police officers in a nation already on edge after years of revolt and turmoil.

Three security officials said some people died during a stampede, while others died in clashes with police. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren't authorised to speak to journalists.

What caused the violence wasn't immediately clear. Security officials said Zamalek fans tried to force their way into the match without tickets, sparking clashes.

Zamalek fans, known as "White Knights", posted on their group's official Facebook page that the violence began because authorities only opened one narrow, barbed-wire door to let them in. They said that sparked pushing and shoving that later saw police officers fire tear gas and birdshot.

The group later posted pictures on Facebook it claimed were of dead fans, including the names of 22 people it said had been killed. The Associated Press could not immediately verify the images, nor their casualty count.

Egypt's hard-core soccer fans, known as Ultras, frequently clash with police inside and outside of stadiums. They are deeply politicised and many participated in the country's 2011 uprising that forced out president Hosni Mubarak. Many consider them as one of the most organised movements in Egypt after the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which the government later outlawed as a terrorist organisation following the 2013 military overthrow of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.

The violence comes as police come under increasing scrutiny following the shooting death of a female protester in Cairo and the arrest of protesters under a law largely banning demonstrations. President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi has pledged bring stability to Egypt amid bombings and attacks by Islamic militants, but also has said Egypt's emergency situation meant that some violations of human rights were inevitable, if regrettable.

The deadliest riot in Egypt soccer history came during a 2012 match when Port Said's Al Masry team hosted Cairo's Al Ahly. That riot, at the time the deadliest worldwide since 1996, killed 74 people, mostly Al Ahly fans.

Two police officers later received 15-year prison sentences for gross negligence and failure to stop the Port Said killings, a rare incident of security officials being held responsible for deaths in the country. Seven other officers were acquitted, angering soccer fans who wanted more police officers to be held accountable for the incident and other episodes of violence.

In response, angry fans burned down the headquarters of Egypt's Football Association, also protesting its decision to resume matches before bringing those behind that 2012 riot to justice. They've also protested and fought officers outside of the country's Interior Ministry, which oversees police in the country.