Egypt: Thugs Attack Pro-Democracy Protesters

Via the BBC:  Egypt protesters attacked by ‘armed civilians’ in Cairo

On Sunday, men in plain clothes armed with swords and petrol bombs confronted the pro-democracy activists after soldiers dispersed a Cairo rally they were holding to demand reform of the security services, eyewitnesses say.

"The army started firing in the air to disperse us," Mohammed Fahmy told Reuters news agency.

"We tried to run away but we were met by 200 thugs in plain clothes carrying sharp weapons."

Mr Fahmy put the number of protesters at 2,000.

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Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

  1. reid says:

    Can no one control these union members?!

  2. jwest says:

    Because it was the BBC reporting, they failed to mention the purple SEIU t-shirts the thugs were wearing.