A wounded protester is carried during clashes with security forces near the Interior Ministry in Cairo on Friday. – Photo by Reuters

SUEZ: Police in the Egyptian canal city of Suez fired birdshot and tear gas to disperse angry protesters, after a night of violence that left two demonstrators dead, an AFP reporter said.

Ambulances ferried the injured out of Al-Arbaeen Square in the city centre under a volley of rocks and stones, amid nationwide unrest over football-related clashes that left 74 people dead on Wednesday.

On Thursday, two protesters were shot dead during clashes with police, and more than 30 people were injured, medical sources said without saying who fired the fatal shots.

Witnesses said that police had fired tear gas in a bid to disperse hundreds of protesters before resorting to live ammunition.

However a security source said officers had not opened fire on the protesters, adding that hundreds of people who “attacked” the local security headquarters in the northeastern city were themselves armed.