Riot police storm university campuses as SAC promise ‘student uprising’

Adham Youssef
3 Min Read
Azhar University Student clash with the riot police on October 12, 2014. (Photo by Ahmed Al- Malky)
Azhar University Student clash with the riot police on October 12, 2014. (Photo by Ahmed Al- Malky)
Azhar University Student clash with the riot police on October 12, 2014.
(Photo by Ahmed Al- Malky)

The Ministry of Interior said 29 students were arrested from Al-Azhar, Minya, Mansoura and the Faculty of Dentistry in Cairo University amidst protests at universities around the country.

Meanwhile, riot police stormed into university campuses across Egypt, as students held protests in the second week of the new academic year.

Protests are taking place condemning the arrest and suspension of fellow students, according to Students Against the Coup (SAC) spokesperson Youssef Saleheen.

At Cairo, Al-Azhar, Minya, and Ain Shams Universities, Central Security Forces (CSF) broke into the campuses to disperse student protests, said Saleheen.Police forces surrounded and patrolled around Al-Azhar University looking for SAC members, the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) reported. CSF chased students inside campus with armoured personnel carriers, SAC said.

The group added that a similar incident took place at Alexandria University, where police officers took video footage of protesters which they used to arrest students outside campus.

Students blocked the Kasr Al-Nil Road in front of Cairo University clashing with security forces. Saleheen added that Special Forces from the army with armoured vehicles were standing guard outside campus, in anticipation of protests.

At Mansoura University, students burnt a security gate and a motorbike owned by private company Falcon.

SAC group issued a statement on Sunday morning claiming that a new wave of protests took place at the universities of Suez, Beni-Suef , Al-Fayoum, and Helwan.

No official count of arrests and injuries has been released so for.

The students, the group added, will continue protesting the presence of security forces, including private security firm Falcon, on and around campuses.

The group said that the oppression of students will result in an “uprising”, where they expect more confrontation with police and Falcon security firm.

Last week the group held a number of protests clashing with riot police and Falcon personnel.

Since the start of the academic year on 11 October at least 163 students have been arrested, according to Democracy Index.

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