CAIRO: Swordfights and scuffles erupted in cities in northern Egypt after motorists queuing up to buy subsidized, scarce gasoline lost their tempers, a local newspaper reported yesterday.
In several such incidents in the coastal city of Alexandria, scuffles broke out in petrol stations among motorists fighting to be served first, culminating in a swordfight in case, the independent daily Al-Masri Al-Youm said.
Long queues outside petrol stations in Egypt’s second largest city reached up to one kilometer in the city center. Other cities in the Nile Delta north of Cairo saw similar quarrels, according to the newspaper.
Meanwhile, security forces yesterday arrested 39 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the main opposition group in Egypt, while they were on holiday in the Nile Delta, a security official said.
“Thirty-nine Muslim Brothers were arrested while on holiday in Kafr Al-Sheikh,” the official told AFP, requesting anonymity. The Muslim Brotherhood website said three of those arrested were local leaders of the group.
Dozens of Islamists were rounded up in the same area earlier this month during a by-election. The vote was won by the ruling National Democratic Party of President Hosni Mubarak.
The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in 1928, was officially banned in Egypt in 1954 but is relatively tolerated.
It holds one fifth of seats in Parliament, won in polls three years ago when its candidates stood as independents.
