Muslim Maniacs Enjoy Violent Protests in Egypt

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Violent Protests Break Out in Egypt

Sunday, October 07, 2007

EL ARISH, Egypt - Thousands of angry demonstrators destroyed the regional

headquarters of Egypt's ruling party, demanding government protection from

lawlessness after a downtown shootout between Bedouin tribesmen and local

residents, police and witnesses said.

Dozens were injured in clashes in this northern Sinai Peninsula town when

plainclothed police attacked the El Arish demonstrators with batons, tear

gas and metal chains, police and witnesses said. At least 40 people were

arrested and two police officers injured in the clashes, police said.

The trouble in El Arish started Saturday evening when scores of masked

Bedouins opened fire in a dispute with local El Arish residents, wounding

three people and damaging shops and cars, police said.

Thousands of residents then took to the streets demanding better protection

from the masked tribesmen.

"It is a state of severe anger and frustration as a result of the security

absence in the town. ... We are not asking to be protected from the Bedouins

or anybody else, but we are aiming to attract attention to the lawless state

in the town," said Amin al-Qassass, a leader with the El Arish branch of the

opposition party Al Wafd.

The demonstrators on Sunday pulled down murals of President Hosni Mubarak

from the National Democratic Party's building and set furniture and

documents on fire, said Hassan Abdullah, another local opposition leader.

Police officials in Cairo confirmed that the NDP building was destroyed and

furniture and other items set ablaze. The officials spoke on condition of

anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The protesters also set fire to the local council building, a few small

stores and burned tires in the streets, said the police officials and

al-Qassass.

They also demanded the resignation of the Northern Sinai governor and the

local police chief, al-Qassass said.

Tension between the townspeople in El Arish, which is home to 120,000

people, and Bedouins who live outside the town in the vast Sinai desert is

not uncommon and confrontations between the two occur occasionally.

Some Bedouins outside of El Arish complain they receive little benefit from

the region's tourist boom and are struggling financially. Instead some eke

out a living smuggling goods and people across the Israeli border.