A file photo of a protest for Ultras Ahlaway in Cairo (Photo:Mai Shaheen)
Egypt's security forces detained dozens of people over security concerns near Cairo's Ahly Sporting Club on Wednesday, which marks the fifth anniversary of the Port Said Stadium disaster where over 70 people were killed, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported
A security source told Al-Ahram that at least 46 people were detained in the vicinity of Ahly Club in Cairo's Zamalek neighbourhood, though rights lawyer Mokhtar Mounir told Ahram Online that at least 80 people have been detained.
The security source added that those detained will be released as long as they are not wanted in already existing legal cases.
The arrests come hours after an announcement by Ahly fan group Ultras Ahlawy saying that it cancelled a planned commemoration of the Port Said disaster at the club's main stadium in Cairo, as it had done in the previous four years.
The cancellation came after a prosecutor ordered the detention for 15 days pending investigation of five members of Ultras Ahlawy who are accused belonging to an illegal group, inciting against public order, possessing explosives and inciting illegal protests.
In May 2015, a court of urgent matters banned the Ultras as a "terrorist group."
Seventy-two fans of Ahly, Egypt’s most popular football club, died in the coastal city of Port Said five years ago after chaos erupted following the end of a league match.
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