Anti-Morsi chants from mourners at funerals for 35 Egypt riot victims

Mourners in the funeral procession were shouting “There is no God but Allah, and Morsi is God’s enemy” after praying for the dead yesterday at the city’s Mariam Mosque. There were no police or army troops in sight, but the funeral procession briefly halted after gunfire rang out. The source of the gunfire was not immediately known.

Health officials said at least 37 people were killed, including two policemen, in rioting on Saturday.

The violence erupted after a court handed down death sentences to 21 local fans involved in a deadly melee at a soccer game last year.

Immediately after the ruling was announced, angry residents and young men went on a rampage in the city, attacking the prison where the defendants were being held and trying to storm police stations and government offices.

The street clashes in Port Said were the latest in a bout of unrest that has left a total of 42 people dead in two days, including 11 killed in clashes between police and protesters marking Friday’s second anniversary of the uprising that overthrew long-time leader Hosni Mubarak.

Yesterday, clashes continued for the fourth successive day between protesters and police near Cairo’s central Tahrir square, birthplace of the 2011 uprising. Police used tear gas, while the protesters pelted them with rocks.

As the situation spiralled out of control, police disappeared from Port Said’s streets, residents and security officials said. The military then dispatched troops to the city, which is located on the northern tip of the Suez Canal.

The bloodshed highlights the challenges facing President Mohammed Morsi, who took office nearly seven months ago following the uprising that ousted Mubarak. Critics say Morsi has failed to carry out promised reforms in the country’s judiciary and police force, and claim little has improved in the two years after the uprising against Mubarak.