Chaos grips Egyptian cities, clashes ongoing between police and protestors
Saturday, 02 March 2013
A police station in the Egyptian city of
Port Said was set on fire by protesters on Saturday followed by clashes
between protestors and security forces. (Al Arabiya)
Egyptian protesters torched a police station in Port Said on
Saturday, as police used tear gas to disperse crowds in the province of
al-Mansura, reported Al Arabiya.
Residents said protesters set a light the police station after a security vehicle ran over demonstrators taking part in a peaceful march, leaving five people wounded.
About 500 protesters threw stones and petrol bombs and then blocked fire engines from approaching the blaze, said the interior ministry.
In Mansura, Egyptian protesters also stormed a police building, amid renewed clashes after a demonstrator's death overnight, the official MENA news agency reported.
They attacked a building that formerly housed the now-relocated regional police headquarters, but where police still have offices.
A security source told AFP police were able to repel them with tear gas.
Six officers were also reportedly injured in Port Said as demonstrators attempted to free detainees held inside the car by hurling stones at the vehicle which was on its way to Port Said’s courthouse.
In January, violence in Port Said was set off when a court convicted and sentenced 21 people to death for involvement in a mass soccer riot in the city’s main stadium on Feb. 1, 2012 that left 74 dead. Most of those killed in the melee were visiting fans of Cairo’s Al-Ahly team.
The verdict enraged people in Port Said, where the majority of the condemned were local soccer fans, many of whom claim innocence.
The ensuing security crackdown deepened a sense of persecution that residents have harbored since the stadium disaster, the worst soccer violence ever to hit Egypt. Clashes are commonplace in Egypt, with people demanding President Mursi reform the interior ministry's police force. The president is accused of not taking police reform, a key demand of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, seriously.
Residents said protesters set a light the police station after a security vehicle ran over demonstrators taking part in a peaceful march, leaving five people wounded.
About 500 protesters threw stones and petrol bombs and then blocked fire engines from approaching the blaze, said the interior ministry.
In Mansura, Egyptian protesters also stormed a police building, amid renewed clashes after a demonstrator's death overnight, the official MENA news agency reported.
They attacked a building that formerly housed the now-relocated regional police headquarters, but where police still have offices.
A security source told AFP police were able to repel them with tear gas.
Six officers were also reportedly injured in Port Said as demonstrators attempted to free detainees held inside the car by hurling stones at the vehicle which was on its way to Port Said’s courthouse.
In January, violence in Port Said was set off when a court convicted and sentenced 21 people to death for involvement in a mass soccer riot in the city’s main stadium on Feb. 1, 2012 that left 74 dead. Most of those killed in the melee were visiting fans of Cairo’s Al-Ahly team.
The verdict enraged people in Port Said, where the majority of the condemned were local soccer fans, many of whom claim innocence.
The ensuing security crackdown deepened a sense of persecution that residents have harbored since the stadium disaster, the worst soccer violence ever to hit Egypt. Clashes are commonplace in Egypt, with people demanding President Mursi reform the interior ministry's police force. The president is accused of not taking police reform, a key demand of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, seriously.
Labels: Chaos, Conflict, Controversy, Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood
posted by Pieface @ Sunday, March 03, 2013
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