190+ injured in clashes at Brotherhood offices across Egypt

Xinhua News 190 injured as protesters attack MB headquarters in Egypt March 22, 2013

CAIRO,  (Xinhua) -- At least 190 people were injured as bloody clashes erupted Friday between Muslim Brotherhood's (MB) supporters and opponents near the group's headquarters in the Egyptian capital of Cairo and other governorates across Egypt, a medical official source told Xinhua.

Mohamed Sultan, head of Egypt's Ambulance Authority, told Xinhua that "some 127 were injured near the MB headquarters in Moqattam, Cairo, and were taken to nearby hospitals, while 59 were treated on the spot," noting the other four were injured in similar clashes in Gharbiya and Sharqiya governorates.

"The injuries varied between wounds and bruises and there were no injuries from gunshots," Sultan reaffirmed.

However, some local websites said one was killed late night during the clashes but it has not yet been confirmed by official sources.

In Cairo, a number of anti-MB rallies headed to the group's headquarters in Moqattam district and some of the protesters set fire to four buses belonging to MB members who came to the area to protect the building.

Security and armored vehicles were deployed around the headquarters and there were a dozen of ambulances deployed in the streets while a state of turmoil overwhelmed the area.

"Two lines of security forces separated the MB supporters who gathered outside the group's headquarters and the protesters who threw stones at the security," an eyewitness told Xinhua.

The eyewitness added that some of the protesters launched Molotov cocktails and fireworks while some others set fire to tyres in the nearby streets until the police used teargas bombs to disperse them.

"Sound of gunfire was heard but the source and type are unknown, " the witness said, noting clashes were still going on.

Some protesters besieged a number of MB supporters inside Al- Taqwa mosque near Al-Nafoura Square in Moqattam, claiming they had weapons and tear gas bombs inside according to one of the protesters.

Another eyewitness said the protesters formed monitoring committees in the entrances of the Moqattam district to prevent any of the MB members to get into the district, which stirred quarrels and clashes between the protesters and some MB members.

Meanwhile, in Manial district of Giza, some anti-MB protesters broke into the headquarters of the group's political arm Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), according to state-run Al-Ahram Online news website.

The ground floor of the FJP headquarters was totally smashed including the offices and the furniture, while some demonstrators attempted to set fire to the place until others prevented them.

Similarly, in Gharbiya governorate's largest city of Mahalla, anti-MB protesters sit fire to the MB headquarters turning all contents into ashes but no casualties were reported.

In Alexandria, protesters also set fire to the FJP headquarters in Fleming and Mostafa Kamel neighborhoods.

Over 20 political parties and movements, mostly liberals, including Al-Dostour Party and Free Egyptians Party, in addition to some 30 public figures, have called for staging a rally dubbed "Friday of restoring dignity" on Friday outside the MB headquarters.

Anti-MB protesters across the country have been demanding holding presidential election in September under full international supervision, sacking the current government and prosecutor-general, and drafting a new constitution to replace the newly-drafted "Islamist-dominated" one.