Hundreds of Morsi supporters torch govt building in Giza after brutal crackdown
15 Aug, 2013 12:34 / Updated 11 years ago
Hundreds of Morsi supporters have stormed a government building in Giza and set it alight, reports state TV. This comes after Wednesday’s brutal crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood loyalists in which over 630 people died.
The Giza incident was confirmed by interior ministry sources, who
told Al Jazeera that protesters had been flinging Molotov
cocktails at the building and firing live ammunition. However,
government employees managed to evacuate the main colonial-style
vialla building before it fell under siege.
Earlier, it was reported that MB supporters set on fire the
governorate headquarters in Cairo. This is yet to be confirmed.
In Giza, a nearby four-story administrative buildings was torched
alongside the governorate building. People could be seen
frantically trying to escape from the top levels of a block in
the area with the aid of firefighters. The affected Giza
government offices are situated on Pyramids Street, on the west
bank of the River Nile.
The burst of anti-government activity in the capital shortly
follows a hundred-strong march in Alexandria, Egypt’s second
largest city. Protesters have been chanting “We will come back
again for the sake of our martyrs,” despite the violent
clearing of two protest camps on Wednesday.
The march eventually turned violent as MB supporters clashed with
local residents. At least three people were killed and 55 others
sustained injuries there, reports Al Arabiya.
The Muslim Brotherhood called for marches and sit-ins to continue
throughout Thursday as a show of solidarity for previous rallies
and those who were killed when security forces cleared the two
main camps in the capital. The suppression prompted outcry from
the international community, which demanded that the violence be
halted.
The interim government declared a state of emergency and a
curfew, stating that new protest camps would not be
allowed.