CAIRO: In a Cairo suburb, panic is growing over a string of alleged kidnappings of 18 girls in 10 days, local newspapers began reporting on Monday. In the crowded suburb of Shobra el-Kheima, witnesses say the phenomenon is raising concerns and panic among the areas residents after police reported the abductions of the girls, all aged between 16- and 20-years-old. Reports from the area indicate that despite a number of local residents filing police reports, the local law enforcement has done little, if anything to resolve the situation, which has families on edge. According to Youm al-Saba'a, police told families “when you know their location, come and inform us.” The most recent case reported involves Aya Shaaban, an 18-year-old, whowas taken in broad daylight on her way to buy breakfast from a local restaurant some 200 meters from her home. When she was late returning, her mother allegedly contacted her via mobile phone, but an unknown woman answered and told her “she won't see her daughter again.” Eyewitnesses say a majority of the girls have been taken by a local tok-tok, the three-wheel small vehicle common in southeast Asia – who has no license. One report said that one girl was taken and bystanders simply did nothing. Victims families told the “Sabaya” television program on the “Al Mehwer” satellite channel that there is an apartment owned by a man – whom they referred to as a “thug” – where he holds 50 girls and “no one can protect them or release them or even act against his colleagues.” According to the families, nobody has reported him to the police. The families also stressed that the disappearance or abductions of teenage girls is common in the area. Many Egyptians are frustrated over the seemingly lack of police action and the inability of local residents to force a solution to what appears to be a growing problem. “How can they allow someone walking around the area without a license number or any identity to drive freely like this ” said Ahmed in a comment on the Youm al-Saba'a website, in reference to the tok-tok and its driver. Another comment, by a man named Gamal, said that “the real bullying exists next to a police statino in Shobra el-Kheima and I plead to Minister of Interior Major General Habib el-Adly to intensify security operations, especially next to a police station in Shobra el-Kheima,” noting that many of the abductions have occurred under the noses of the police. Another user argued that the abductor appears to be a government “thug” and has not been arrested due to his involvement with the government. **reporting by Mohamed Abdel Salam BM
