1 Dead, 56 Injured As Cairo Police Clash With Nile Island Residents
At least one person has been killed and dozens injured in clashes between police and residents of a Nile island in Cairo, when security forces attempted to demolish illegal buildings, the ministry of Interior said in a statement.
“The forces were surprised by demonstrations by some of the trespassers, who had assaulted the forces by firing birdshots and throwing stones … Which pushed the forces to fire teargas to disperse the protesters and to control the situation,” the statement added.
Security forces withdrew from the scene to minimize losses, a police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, told Reuters.
“We were born on this island … we have proof of ownership, our parents were born here.. they want to give it to the Emirates to build hotels,” said Marzouk Hany, 20, butcher, as he was marching along with hundreds in the funeral of the man who was killed.
About 90 thousand people live on the 1300 acres al-Warraq island, said Mahmoud Jaffar Salman, a former member of parliament to Giza, which the island is part of.
