Sudan on high alert for crunch Algeria-Egypt tie

by Guillaume Lavallee

KHARTOUM (AFP) – Sudanese police were on high alert on Monday as Algerian and Egyptian fans began arriving for this week's crunch World Cup qualification play-off amid mounting fears of trouble between the rival supporters.

Despite a demand from Egypt for additional protection for its nationals and interests in Algeria, Egypt Air's Algiers offices were again ransacked by fans still angry over stonethrowing in Cairo last week which left three Algerian players injured.

"We have put all our security forces on their highest level of alert," Khartoum state governor Abderrahman al-Khidr told reporters in the Sudanese capital, adding that a total of 15,000 police would be on duty for Wednesday's game and ready to respond to any incident.

Khidr said that only 35,000 spectators would be allowed into the 41,000 capacity stadium in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman to allow for segregation of the rival fans.

Algeria and Egypt each have an allocation of 9,000 tickets for their traveling fans.

"We are expecting 48 planes from Algeria and 18 from Egypt," Khidr said, adding that 2,000 fans were also traveling by road from neighboring Egypt for the game.

The Khartoum governor said that traveling fans needed to be aware of a shortage of hotel capacity in the Sudanese capital.

"For those who arrive on match day, the two sets of fans will be assigned separate areas to sleep in," where giant screens will also be set up to allow those without tickets to see the game.

A rash of violence since the 2-0 Egyptian victory, which forced Wednesday's neutral-venue play-off, has ratcheted up security fears around the game.

The Egyptian foreign ministry summoned the Algerian ambassador to seek increased security for its nationals after a spate of attacks against Egyptian targets.

Cairo wants "assurances that the Algerian authorities are doing everything necessary to ensure the safety of Egyptian nationals in Algeria," deputy foreign minister for Arab affairs Abdel Rahman Salah told reporters.

He stressed "the importance of halting the escalation" in the build-up to Wednesday's game.

But for a second day in a row, Egypt Air's Algiers offices were attacked, an AFP correspondent in the Algerian capital said.

On Sunday, 15 offices of Orascom Telecoms Algerie (OTA), a subsidiary of the Egyptian group Orascom, were ransacked, causing more than five million dollars in damage, its communications chief Hamid Grine said.

"More than 70,000 mobile phones with a value of five million dollars were destroyed or stolen," Grine said, adding that between 3,000 and 5,000 rioters were involved.

The company also said one of its employees was assaulted at Algiers airport.

Algeria's ambassador in Cairo, Abdelkader Hadjar, told reporters that authorities in his country were "making every effort and will do more to protect Egyptian nationals and interests."

Algiers had sought similar assurances from Cairo after its players were injured when stones were thrown at their bus as they being driven from the airport to the team hotel last week.

Despite that appeal, 20 Algerians were among 32 people injured in clashes after Saturday's game.

Egypt's victory in that match left the two teams tied on 13 points with the same goal difference forcing Wednesday's play-off.

The North African rivals have a history of bad blood, with riots breaking out after Egypt defeated Algeria in a 1989 match in Cairo.

Algeria player Lakhdar Belloumi was tried in absentia and sentenced to prison in Egypt for allegedly seriously injuring the Egyptian team doctor with a bottle after that game.

Egypt last qualified for the World Cup in 1990, and Algeria in 1986.