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Egyptians clash with police at Algerian embassy
(AFP)

20 November 2009, 12:50 PM
Protestors hurled stones and firebombs at police near the Algerian embassy in Cairo, as anger mounted over attacks on Egyptians after the countries’ World Cup qualifier.

The interior ministry said 11 officers were hurt and 15 cars were damaged in the violence.

The protest started on Thursday night on a street leading to the embassy, when riot police repeatedly turning back the demonstrators, who burned Algerian flags.

The demonstrators were enraged by reports of attacks against Egyptian fans in Khartoum on Wednesday after a World Cup qualification decider with Algeria, and demanded the expulsion of the Algerian ambassador.

Egyptian fans told AFP that stones were thrown at their bus as they made their way back to Khartoum airport after the 1-0 defeat, which followed a 2-0 victory for the Pharoahs in Cairo on Saturday.

Egypt recalled its ambassador from Algeria on Thursday for consultations and summoned the Algerian envoy in Cairo to protest the attacks.

It was the second summons in a week for Ambassador Abdelkader Hadjar, who was called to the foreign ministry last week after Algerian fans attacked Egyptian businesses and homes in Algiers.

Before the match in Cairo, several Algerian footballers were hurt after the team bus was stoned on the way from the airport to the team hotel.

A similar fate befell some visiting supporters after Egypt won the game, which left the teams neck and neck in their qualifying group and triggered the replay in Khartoum.

People then took to the streets in Algiers, attacking 15 offices belonging to a local subsidiary of Egypt’s Orascom Telecom and twice ransacking the Algiers offices of Egypt Air.

The attacks prompted Orascom to pull out 25 Egyptian employees and their families.

 

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