Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf paid a visit to Qena Governorate in Upper Egypt on Tuesday. The visit was his first to the area since Qena residents staged mass protests in response to a Coptic governor being appointed to the area. Last month, Qena residents staged a 10-day protest before the governor's building and blocked train lines in order to express their opposition to the appointment of Major General Emad Mikhael as governor, succeeding former Governor Magdi Ayoub, who is a Copt. Residents called for the appointment of a Muslim instead. However, some protesters said they did not reject Mikhael for being a Copt, but rather for taking part in killing protesters during the 25 January revolution, which led to the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak on 11 February. The residents ended their protests when Sharaf decided on 25 April to suspend Mikhael's work for three months. Sharaf was welcomed by the citizens and prayed with them. Chanting and waving flags, people gathered before the mosque to salute the prime minister. He was accompanied on the visit by Minister of Local Development Mohsen al-Noamani, Minister of Population Mohamed al-Baradei, and Minister of Social Solidarity Gouda Abdel Khaleq. Translated from the Arabic Edition
