President Mohamed Morsi Sunday declared a state of emergency in three provinces hit by rioting which has left dozens dead, warning he was ready to take further steps to confront threats to Egypt's security.

Emergency measures would come into effect in the provinces of Port Said, Suez and Ismailia "for 30 days starting at midnight (2200 GMT Sunday)," Morsi said in an address on state television.

Angry anti-riot policemen on Sunday barred Egypt's interior minister from attending the funeral of two colleagues killed in clashes in the city of Port Said, the official news agency MENA reported.

It said dozens of policemen prevented Mohammed Ibrahim from entering the Cairo mosque where the funerals were held for the two killed in clashes with demonstrators on Saturday.

Three people died and more than 400 were hurt in Egypt's Port Said on Sunday as rioting sparked by death sentences passed on fans of a local football team rocked the canal city for a second straight day.

Crowds attempted to storm three police stations and others torched a social club belonging to the armed forces, looting items inside, security officials said.

Egypt's national defense council headed by President Mohamed Morsi on Saturday appealed for calm and called for a national dialogue as deadly clashes raged.

In a statement read out on state television by Information Minister Salah Abdel Maqsud, the council called for dialogue with "independent national figures" to settle political differences and agree on a mechanism for an upcoming parliamentary election.

Egypt's opposition threatened on Saturday to boycott upcoming parliamentary polls if President Mohamed Morsi does not find a "comprehensive solution" to the crisis gripping the country.

The National Salvation Front (NSF), the main coalition of parties and movements opposing the ruling Islamists, called for the creation of a "national salvation" government, saying that otherwise it will "not participate in the next parliamentary elections."

Street clashes killed at least 30 people in Egypt's Port Said on Saturday after 21 supporters of a local football club were sentenced to death over a bloody stadium riot in the canal city.

The violence comes a day after nine were killed in protests against President Mohamed Morsi on the second anniversary of Egypt's uprising against predecessor Hosni Mubarak, in the worst crisis Morsi has faced since taking power in June.

Violence showed no sign of abating on Friday on Syrian battlefields as protesters slammed both the regime and rebels fighting to overthrow it.

The regime's air force launched air raids on several rebel-held towns, including in Damascus province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a broad network of activists, doctors and lawyers.

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has appealed for calm after seven people died in clashes between police and protesters on the second anniversary of the revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

As troops were deployed in the flashpoint city of Suez, Morsi, in a message posted on his Twitter account Friday, urged "citizens to adhere to the values of the revolution, express opinions freely and peacefully and renounce violence".

Police clashed with protesters in Cairo Thursday, eve of the the second anniversary of the uprising that overthrew Hosni Mubarak, as they tried to dismantle a security barrier and called for the fall of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, an AFP correspondent said.

A few dozens men and youths tried to dismantle the wall of concrete blocks that blocked a street leading to Tahrir Square, focal point of demonstrations that broke out on January 25, 2010 and led to Mubarak's resignation 18 days later.

Egypt has yet to decide whether it will host talks between Iran and world powers on Tehran's controversial nuclear program, the official MENA news agency reported on Thursday, quoting a diplomat.

"Cairo has always welcomed in principle anything that can help to sustain stability in the Middle East," but "nothing definite has been decided yet" about hosting the talks, the unidentified diplomat said.