Birdshot, teargas used to disperse Al-Azhar University protests: SAC

Daily News Egypt
2 Min Read

Protests at Al-Azhar Girl University resulted in clashes and arrests, said Students Against the Coup (SAC) spokesmanYousef Moslem.

Security forces used birdshot and tear gas to disperse the protestors, Moslem claimed.

SAC had announced marches embarking from universities on Wednesday to coincide with the third anniversary of the 2011 Mohamed Mahmoud clashes, according to a statement by the group on Tuesday.

There were other student protests inside Cairo University and at Ain Shams University.

Moslem said that there were no marches to Mohamed Mahmoud Street in downtown Cairo. This street was the site of deadly clashes between protesters and security forces that started on 19 November 2011 and lasted for five days.

During the clashes on Mohamed Mahmoud Street three years ago, police fired teargas, birdshot, rubber bullets, and live ammunition at unarmed protesters claiming they were preventing them from attacking the Ministry of Interior. The ministry’s headquarters are close to the site of clashes, on a street that is parallel to Mohamed Mahmoud.

Hundreds of people were injured in the 2011 clashes, including dozens who suffered critical eye injuries.

Protesters other than the SAC flocked  to downtown to commemorate the Mohamed Mahmoud clashes, and were subsequently dispersed with tear gas by security forces. Dozens of protesters were arrested, according to a Ministry of Interior source.

Several eyewitnesses said undercover agents wearing Guy Fawkes masks mixed with the protesters and started to randomly arrest them.

 

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