Muslim Brotherhood Guidance Bureau member Abdel-Rahman El-Barr and other members of the Islamist group were trapped inside a mosque by opposition protesters for several hours on Tuesday evening. Around 700 people gathered outside the mosque in El-Ibrahimeya city in Sharqiya until police dispersed the crowd with tear gas and gunshots fired into the air, enabling El-Barr and the others to depart. Protesters torched the office of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) in El-Ibrahimeya shortly after El-Barr was released. FJP member Hassan El-Sadek said El-Barr had been giving a religious lecture at the mosque. “Thugs and members of [ousted president Hosni Mubarak's] dissolved National Democratic Party tried to attack El-Barr, but people in the mosque stopped them and they stayed inside," El-Sadek added. In a separate incident, a leading Brotherhood member said he was attacked by thugs in Zagazig, Sharqiya governorate on Tuesday. On Monday, clashes broke out between supporters and opponents of the president in Sharqiya leaving 11 injured, including a Central Security Forces officer. Tensions have been rising between supporters and opponents of President Morsi as anticipated anti-government protests on Sunday draw nearer. The protests, called for by the Rebel campaign and supported by major opposition groups, aim to force Morsi to resign and call early presidential elections.
