Cairo - Egypt on Thursday said it would summon the Algerian ambassador in Cairo to protest attacks against Egyptian fans after Wednesday night's World Cup playoff in Sudan. "The ambassador will receive a strong message about securing the Egyptian presence in Algeria, whether for citizens or companies, and that this is the responsibility of the Algerian government alone," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said in remarks run by Egypt's official MENA news agency.
Egyptian lawmakers called for suspending ties with Algeria. Independent lawmaker Gamal Zahran, who attended the match in Sudan, said Thursday that summoning Algeria's ambassador was not a sufficient response, and called on the government to sever ties with Algeria.
Ragab Hilal Hamida, another lawmaker, said he presented an urgent petition to the parliament calling on the government to deal with the dispute through its ambassador to the United Nations.
The parliamentary protests followed street protests the night before.
After Algeria beat Egypt 1-0 in Sudan, witnesses in Khartoum told the German Press Agency
