Violence outside Cairo soccer match leaves 30 dead

 No fewer than 30 people died outside an Egyptian football match on Sunday when security forces barred fans from entering the stadium.

Most of the dead were suffocated when the crowd stampeded after police used teargas to clear the fans trying to force their way into a league match between two Cairo clubs, Zamalek and Enppi, doctors and witnesses said.

The death toll, previously confirmed to be 22 by Egypt’s authorities, has been growing, according to hospital reports in local media, including Ahram Online which cited medical sources, RT reported.

All of the bodies have been moved to a local Cairo morgue. Another 25 people were injured, state news agency MENA reported.

Football matches are often a flashpoint for violence in Egypt where 72 fans were killed at a match in Port Said in February 2012.

Since then Egypt has curbed the number of people allowed to attend, and supporter groups have often tried to storm stadiums they are banned from entering.

Relations between security forces and fan groups, known as Ultras, have been tense since the 2011 popular uprising that ended the rule of autocrat Hosni Mubarak, in which the Ultras played a key role.

"Huge numbers of Zamalek club fans came to Air Defense Stadium to attend the match ... and tried to storm the stadium gates by force, which prompted the troops to prevent them from continuing the assault," the interior ministry said.

Despite the violence, the match went ahead and ended with a 1-1 draw. Some media speculated that the government could cancel the national league championship in light of Sunday's violence.