WHILE COVERING clashes between security forces and pro-MB students outside Cairo University's main gate, Khaled Hussein, a reporter for Al-Youm Al-Sabei, was shot in the chest on Monday. At the same time Amr Al-Sayed, a photographer working for the privately-owned TV channel Sada Al-Balad, also sustained gunfire injuries. According to doctors at Qasr Al-Aini Hospital, where they have been hospitalised, the two journalists' condition is stable. Bloody clashes also resulted in the death of Mohamed Adel, a student at the Faculty of Arabic Language and Islamic Thought. Reports differ as to who killed Adel and shot the two journalists, with protesters and security forces blaming each other. For his part, Press Syndicate Chairman Diaa Rashwan called for a halt to field reporting until enough protection is provided for journalists. The syndicate filed a complaint at the prosecutor's office on Monday to investigate the shooting of Hussein and Al-Sayed. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Federation of Arab Journalists also called for an immediate investigation into the incident, referring whoever stands responsible to justice. The decision by Rashwan came in response to complaints by journalists who accuse both the police and MB supporters of targeting them. This week's incident comes only a few weeks after a 22-year-old journalist, Mayada Ashraf of Al-Dostour newspaper, was killed covering similar clashes. Attacks on journalists will not be tolerated, Rashwan said, calling for a demonstration on Thursday to protest Ashraf's death and injuries to other journalists in the last few months. In 2013, the US-based NGO Committee to Protect Journalists ranked Egypt as the third-deadliest country in the world for journalists. Rashwan said he asked all press institutions to send the syndicate lists of the names of all reporters and photojournalists assigned to cover such stories, stating his preference for syndicate members. The syndicate will organise special workshops to train them in professional safety. But Monday's incident will probably not be the last since the ouster of the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last July. On Tuesday morning, a handmade bomb exploded at a police checkpoint in Galaa Square near the Dokki Police Station. The explosion led to the injury of a police officer, a recruit and a civilian. All were transferred to a police hospital for treatment. Explosives experts searched the area for other bombs. A taxi driver on the scene witnessed one suspect on a motorbike planting the bomb, and after the explosion he and other bystanders took hold of him. In the same context, 25 people were injured following a bomb blast at a girls school in Daqahliya governorate according to the Health Ministry. However, security sources later reported later that the incident was caused by a gas leak at the school laboratory.
