Egypt: Worst Riots Since 1977 Bread Brawls; Worse May Lie Ahead

by PEP | April 9, 2008 at 11:51 am | 479 views | 2 comments

Protesters face Egyptian riot police - 07 April 2008

An economic and political crisis is building in Egypt. MSNBC reports that rioters are setting buildings on fire.

The banned group Muslim Brotherhood is taking full advantage to literally set fire to the streets. The Brotherhood is a jihadist organization that declares "Jihad is our way."

Egypt rushed yesterday to grant bonuses to workers after two days of deadly riots over high food prices and low wages racked this northern industrial city, fueling government fears that economic angst might boil over across the country.

A top United Nations official warned that many poor nations are in danger of such unrest as inflation heats up around the globe.

Rising prices have struck hard in Egypt, a US ally where 40 percent of the people live in or near poverty. This Nile Delta factory city has seen a wave of strikes for more than a year, and the anger exploded into rioting Sunday and Monday.

Protesters tore down a billboard of President Hosni Mubarak and fought with police in clashes that left one person dead in the worst unrest since Egypt's 1977 riots over increased bread prices.

More news at Egypt on Fire.

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jordan

at 13:16 on April 9th, 2008

Some alt coverage here:

For continuous updates on the detainees, please follow Tadamon, April 6th Strike, Abna2Masr and the HMLC blogs, especially as reports are coming out that those ordered by the prosecutor to be released in Alexandria and Mansoura, remain in police custody… Shehab Ismail also called me from NYC yesterday to say his sister Sarah who had been detained earlier in Cairo was still in police custody despite a release order…

Videos of the riots, caught on cellular phones, keep surfacing on the net… Check out some of them here, here, here, and here… Videos of the Cairo U protests could be found here… Also Keep an eye whenever you can on my bookmarks for more links and resources on the current fight against the Mubarak’s dictatorship…

The Egyptian Workers and Trade Unions Watch issued a report on Mahalla’s Monday riots, which you can download here…

Solidarity statements are flocking in from local and international activists…