CAIRO, 8 October 2007 — Egyptian police detained at least 40 people after hundreds of angry Bedouins stormed government buildings in north Sinai yesterday to protest police inaction after a shooting by a rival clan, a security source said.
The mob attacked the ruling National Democratic Party headquarters in the city of El-Arish and burned pictures of President Hosni Mubarak, prompting police to fire tear gas to break up the crowd, the source said.
What began as a fight between young members of two rival clans in El-Arish spilled over into large scale violence against the police, residents said. “Police have detained 40 Bedouins from both tribes.
The situation is calm now but three police officers were injured in clashes,” the security source said on condition of anonymity.
At least 20 Bedouins needed medical treatment following the clashes, mainly from the effects of the tear gas, the source said.
Residents said the violence erupted overnight Saturday, when several thousand Bedouins went on the rampage in the streets of El-Arish, directing their anger against police after a gang fight involving members of the Tarabin tribe based in central Sinai and the local Fawakhriya tribe.
Witnesses said earlier that the city’s local council building had been damaged by stone-throwing protesters who also burned tires throughout the city.
“At least 4,000 to 5,000 residents took to the streets, they burned tires and smashed shop windows,” a police officer said of the overnight rioting. “At least six people were injured in the clashes, including one police officer,” the official said, giving the toll from the overnight violence.
After the breaking of the Ramadan fast, armed Tarabin tribesmen arrived in El-Arish in 15 trucks and began to shoot at members of the Fawakhriya tribe for about 15 minutes.
Thousands of residents, furious at the lack of police protection against the violence, then poured into the streets for protests that lasted at least five hours, the police official said.
Abdel Hamid Selmy, of the Fawakhriya tribe and a member of the Egyptian Parliament’s upper house said that police had promised to control the situation in the future.
He said that while rivalries between neighboring clans regularly lead to fighting, Saturday’s spontaneous protest “is an expression of the frustration felt by Bedouins due to the constant neglect by authorities.”
Hassan Abdallah, a local resident who belongs to the left-leaning Tagammu party, said that protesters had blocked main roads and shouted anti-government slogans.
Bedouins have long complained of discriminatory policies and mistreatment by the authorities.
Meanwhile, Egyptian independent and opposition newspapers suspended publication yesterday in protest at a government clampdown that has seen several journalists hit with lengthy jail terms.
The journalists’ union said 23 newspapers were on strike. Dailies did not publish their Sunday editions, while independent and opposition weeklies will also not be appearing on newsstands.
The move follows the sentencing of seven journalists in September to up to two years in prison on charges ranging from misquoting the justice minister to spreading rumors about the health of 79-year-old President Mubarak.
“The strike is one of many steps we will use to appeal the current pressures,” said Mohammed Sayyed Said, editor of the independent Al-Badil daily, who is facing prosecution for writing about Mubarak’s health.
“This is an important message to demand the removal of sentences against journalists,” he said.
Safwat Al-Sherif, who heads the Supreme Council for the Press, insisted that Mubarak stood by freedom of the press and of expression.
“But he stressed that there must be a balance between freedom and responsibility,” Sherif told the official MENA news agency, adding that “the justice system in Egypt is independent.”
