Protest near Cairo Airport Delays Kerry Departure

Hundreds of Egyptian football fans briefly blocked a main road to Cairo's international airport on Sunday, forcing a delay in visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's departure, an airport official said.

The al-Ahly fans blocked the road in anticipation of a court ruling this weekend in which rival supporters in Port Said face sentencing over a deadly post-match riot. The al-Ahly fans want them convicted.

An airport official said police have deployed armored vehicles to prevent the fans from getting closer to the airport. The fans were later persuaded to reopen the road, the official MENA news agency reported.

The airport official said Kerry had been scheduled to leave at around 1400 GMT.

The al-Ahly fans, known as Ultras, blocked roads and trains in January ahead of a court ruling that sentenced a first group of 21 defendants to death over last year's football riot in which 74 fans, mostly from Cairo, were killed.