Scores of people staged demonstrations Wednesday in front of the local police station in the village of Al-Aziza in Daqahlia, to protest the lack of adequate policing in the area. "We live in constant terror of the many thugs, criminals and drug dealers that threaten us all the time," said Al-Aziza resident Mohamed Mahmoud. He went on to accuse local police of turning a blind eye to the problem, saying that many local thugs and criminals were employed to protect the ruling party's candidates in elections. "Armed criminals openly sell drugs on the streets and no one dares challenge them," said local resident Mahmoud el-Dabbour. "They steal our cattle and force us to pay them protection money." Security sources, meanwhile, accuse certain "Islamist groups" of inciting residents against the police in an effort to disrupt upcoming local elections. Within the last two months, 42 cases of unlicensed weapons possession, 32 cases of drug possession and 125 cases of possession of illegal knives and clubs have been recorded in the village. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
