CAIRO - More 130 Egyptian football fans and police were injured following an Egyptian Cup match between Ahly and Kima Aswan, Egypt's Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday. Ahly beat Aswan 4-0. According to the local media, Ahly's fans, known as Ultras, clashed with police in Cairo Stadium late on Tuesday, leaving more than 130 people injured. The trouble started when Al-Ahly supporters chanted slogans against Mubarak and former interior minister Habib al-Adli, both on trial for murder, and threw bottles at police, police and witnesses said. The clashes moved to a nearby street, police said, where the fans injured over 70 policemen and torched more than a dozen cars, including four police vehicles. An anonymous eyewitness, one of the Ultras, told The Egyptian Gazette that more than 15 of their number had been arrested, although the foreign media said that 12 were arrested. "I have been informed that those arrested include the ‘Capo' [the leader of the Ultras]. They have been interrogated by the Nasr City Prosecution," he added. According to the Ministry of Interior, some people, outlaws, tried to disrupt the match right from the referee's whistle, with their spoiling tactics including the use of fireworks. But the unnamed witness said the police used violence first, following the end of the match. “As soon as the match ended, the police attacked us with sticks, so we started defending ourselves using our hands,” he added. “The police got violent for no good reason.” The April 6 Movement has condemned Tuesday's attacks on the Ultras, calling for the sacking of the general in charge of the Cairo Security Department and his assistants. According to the movement, what happened to the Ultras was revenge because they participated in the January 25 revolution and the ‘Battle of the Camel' on February 2. Another witness said that the clashes began when policemen tried to forcibly remove the fans, who chanted anti-Mubarak slogans after the match. Ultras Ahlawy (UA-07) are an Egyptian ultras group who support Cairo-based Egyptian Premier League club Ahly. The group was founded in 2007.
