Police and protesters clash in streets and at funeral

In Cairo youths hurled stones at police in riot gear who fired teargas to push them back towards Tahrir Square.

Three people were shot dead and around 400 injured in Port Said today after clashes erupted between security forces and mourners at a mass funeral of 33 people who died in protests on Saturday.

Protests erupted after a court sentenced 21 people to death for their role in a stadium confrontation on February 1 last year.

Troops were sent on to the city's streets as the protests turned violent. Soldiers took up positions at the local power and water stations, a local government building and the prison, while navy sailors guarded the offices of the Suez Canal company.

Saturday's riot stemmed from a deep animosity between police and football fans know as Ultras, who protested against the generals who took over from Hosni Mubarak and now against President Mohammed Morsi.

Survivors of the February 1 stadium melee, in which 74 people died, say that General Mubarak loyalists had a hand in instigating the killings, which began after Port Said's Al-Masry beat Cairo's Al-Ahly 3-1.

Some say "hired thugs" posing as Al-Masry fans led the attacks and others say that, at the very least, police were responsible for gross negligence.

President Morsi's opponents have taken to the streets across Egypt since Thursday, accusing him of betraying the uprising.

The National Defence Council, headed by President Morsi, has called for a national dialogue to discuss political differences.

That offer has been cautiously welcomed by the opposition coalition National Salvation Front which has threatened to boycott the parliamentary poll and call for more protests if a list of demands is not met, including an early presidential vote.