Islam Times - Egypt riot police chief sacked amid protests: State media

Islam Times - The Egyptian state media says the country's riot police chief has been sacked amid protests by officers demanding an end to politicizing the force in favor of the ruling party.

Egyptian Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim on Friday fired the chief of the Central Security Forces Major General Maged Noah, and replaced him with Major General Ashraf Abdullah, official MENA news agency reported.

Earlier in the day, police personnel left their headquarters o the restive canal city as the military took over security after nearly a week of deadly clashes.

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi deployed the military to Port Said after violent protests erupted in the city in late January.

The violence followed a court's decision to sentence 21 defendants to death over involvement in a 2012 stadium riot that killed 74 people, mostly fans of visiting Al-Ahly football team.

The court plans to sit again, this time in the capital for security reasons, to judge the remaining 52 defendants, among the nine policemen and three officials of the Port Said football club, Al-Masry.

The hearing will coincide with unprecedented nationwide police protests, including in the city of Ismailiya, where riot police announced refusal to obey orders to deploy in neighboring Port Said.

The striking policemen say they are not equipped to deal with violent protesters, and complain they are being used as political tool and forced to suffer the consequences of government’s mistakes.