The top floor of an eight-story apartment building caught on fire Friday night, a blaze protesters blamed on a police tear gas canister tossed at demonstrators who were on top of the building earlier in the day.
About 215 kilometers (130 miles) north in Alexandria, protesters on Friday stormed the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing and set it on fire, said Ahmed Sobea, a spokesman for the Freedom and Justice Party.
Calling for calm and dialogue, the U.S. State Department expressed concern Friday about the developments, saying, "One of the aspirations of the revolution was to ensure that power would not be overly concentrated in the hands of any one person or institution."
Dr. Khaled al-Khatib, from Egypt's health ministry, reported at least 140 injuries nationwide in the unrest, including 37 in Port Said and 36 in Cairo, according to state-run EGYNews. Eleven police officers were injured, state TV reported, citing the Interior Ministry.
Al-Khatib said there were no deaths, which differs from an earlier report Friday from Health Ministry spokesman Mohamed Sultan of at least one death. ElBaradei said one young man is "critically dead" after being shot in the head, with more than 300 people getting treatment at area hospitals because of tear gas.
Cameras have been installed on residential and government buildings around Tahrir Square so authorities can "capture images of those troublemakers and protesters who attack security forces," said Interior Ministry spokesman Alaa Mahmoud.
Thus far, authorities have arrested 210 protesters, 85 of whom are charged with destroying public property, thuggery and attacking security forces, the Interior Ministry said, according to state TV. Some 44 of those arrested are juveniles who are now back with their families.
"My worry ... is that the while situation will turn ugly, will turn violent if Morsy doesn't rescind (his) decisions (and) engage in dialogue with the rest of the country," ElBaradei said, adding he had met with Morsy a week ago and felt blindsided by his moves.
Comments
The views expressed are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Service and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms.