News, Articles & Reviews

Cairo (ANTARA News/Xinhua) - At least 111 people were admitted to hospital for treatment due to wounds sustained during riots that continued from Sunday until early Monday in northern Egypt, the official MENA news agency reported on Monday.

Egyptian Health Minister Hatem el-Gabali on Monday went to the city of el-Mahala el-Kobra in Gharbiya governorate, some 100 km north of Cairo, to inquire after the conditions of the victims in the riots, a ministry statement said.

Most of the wounded, including a number of security men, are now in stable condition, the statement said.

In the northern Egyptian town where a planned strike by workers of Egypt`s largest textile factory Misr Spinning and Weaving Company was thwarted on Sunday, rioters hurled stones at stores and banks and set fire to a police outpost and school furniture, MENA quoted a security source as saying.

The police were forced to use tear gas to disperse the crowd after warning the rioters repeatedly to stop sabotaging activities but getting no response, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Some people, including troublemakers, citizens and policemen, were hurt during the process, added the source.

Egyptian attorney general counselor Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud inspected Monday afternoon the areas which witnessed riots.

Some automatic teller machines in the streets were damaged. Two schools were also set ablaze and 40 computers were stolen and destroyed.

Mahmoud urged to mount investigations with 155 defendants arrested during the riots and hearing the testimonies of the injured and witnesses.

Meanwhile, witnesses said fresh riots occurred Monday for the second consecutive day in the city and more people were injured in conflicts with riot police.

On Sunday, the Egyptian authorities also thwarted plans for a general strike to protest against price hikes across the populous Arab country.

Western media reports said some 100 people were arrested in Egypt due to their alleged role behind the calls for the general strike in the country.

Source