CAIRO: Hundreds of Egyptian students angered by a mass outbreak of food poisoning at a Cairo university stormed yesterday the offices of the country’s top Muslim cleric, who presides over the institution.
The Monday outbreak at Al-Azhar University forced the hospitalization of 479 students, Health Ministry official Khaled El-Khateib said. It occurred after a meal served at the university dormitories in Cairo’s Nasr City district.
The university is affiliated with Al-Azhar mosque, the world’s foremost seat of learning, and awards degrees in sciences and humanities as well as in religious studies. Ahmed El-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar whose offices were attacked, is the university’s ultimate authority.
Underlining the gravity of the incident, Egypt’s top prosecutor ordered an investigation into the outbreak and President Muhammad Mursi visited one of the several Cairo hospitals to which victims were taken.
Egyptian students protest mass food poisoning
Egyptian students protest mass food poisoning
