Ethiopian police fired live ammunition and tear gas when football fans
besieged the pitch in the Addis Ababa Stadium during the African Under-20
Championship match between Egypt and Cameroon.
The violence resulted in the game being abandoned.

Play had lasted only 25 minutes when the Ethiopian fans began to throw
objects unto the pitch in protest at the Ethiopians perception that the
match was being fixed.

Cameroon and Egypt are currently tied on four points each and a draw would
guarantee that both teams advance to the semi-finals of the Championship, at
the expense of Ethiopia and South Africa.

A semi-final place also means an automatic qualification for the World
Under-20 Championship in Argentina later this year.

Suspicion or impatience
Ethiopia and South Africa, who are the other nations in the group, with a
point each stand the chance of qualifying for the next stage if there is a
victory in the Cameroon/Egypt game.

The home crowd therefore took to urging Cameroon and Egypt to play a much
more competitive game.

They soon started throwing water bottles and stones at the players, forcing
the referee to stop play.

Officials of the Confederation of African Football, Caf, quickly held
discussions with the organisers and the officials of both nations, and after
a hold-up of more than 20 minutes it was decided that play should continue.

But just about two minutes after the resumption, the angry crowd jumped over
the six-foot fencing and rushed onto the pitch chasing and attacking all the
players with an assortment of objects.

Journalists attacked
Advertising boards at the stadium were ripped apart and the corner flags
were removed and used to attack officials in the VIP stands.

Television cameramen were attacked and the benches of the two teams were
also smashed.

A South African photographer, mistaken for an Egyptian, was punched and
thrown down the stairs at the exit of the VIP area.

Security had been beefed up earlier in the week following ugly incidents in
Ethiopia's game with Egypt when mobs of Ethiopians fans chased the Egyptians
into their dressing room after the Egyptians allegedly made some obscene
gestures at the Ethiopians.

Despite the new security arrangements the police could not contain the
violent crowd and could only watch on helplessly as journalists and other
peaceful spectators run for their lives.

Battleground

Out of the stadium the angry crowd regrouped and smashed cars and nearby
windows.

A security man then opened fire with live bullets as the Addis Ababa city
centre became a battleground.

Sound of gunfire continued to echo across the city for nearly an hour after
the game was abandoned.

It is not known if there are any fatalities but many people sustained a
variety of injuries.

The Cameroonian and Egyptian teams took refuge in the stadium for more than
two hours before they were eventually whisked to their hotels.

Caf will now decide on what to do with Saturday's abandoned games.

There are two other games scheduled for Sunday when Ghana play Mali and
Nigeria take on Angola.

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