"Thousands" besiege Algerian embassy in Cairo (1st Lead)

Nov 19, 2009, 23:52 GMT

Cairo - Thousands of people gathered in the streets around the Algerian embassy just after midnight Friday in Cairo, witnesses told the German Press Agency dpa.

Witnesses said one of the bridges onto the exclusive island neighbourhood of Zamalek, where the embassy is located, had been completely taken over by the crowds and that several of the island's main thoroughfares were mobbed.

Many of the protesters were shouting obscenities at the embassy, while marching.

The crowds were gathering after clashes between Algerian and Egyptian fans in the previous weeks around a World Cup qualifier and final in Egypt and Sudan on Saturday and Wednesday nights, respectively.

Much smaller crowds gathered near the Algerian embassy after Egyptian media reported that Algerian fans attacked Egyptian fans in Sudan following Algeria's 1-0 victory Wednesday night to reach the World Cup next year in South Africa.

Egypt recalled its ambassador from Algiers for consultations on Thursday, citing the attacks.

Prior to the game, Egypt's Orascome Telecom saw its offices in Algeria destroyed, and the company was hit with nearly 600 million dollars in tax penalties from the government in Algiers.

The first of the match-ups in the last week took place following what the Algerian team alleged was a stoning of its bus in Cairo, leaving several players injured. Egypt won that game, setting up the playoff, which took place in Sudan under tight security.