CAIRO: Tens of people in Aswan, in southern Egypt, gathered outside the city hall after the boat man who was shot by a police officer last week died on Saturday. A curfew was established on Saturday evening. The protesters closed the Nile road and security forces failed to persuade them to leave. Meanwhile police shot tear gas at the family of the man after clashes erupted when they gathered outside the police headquarters. No injuries were reported as of Sunday afternoon. The man, identified as Mohamed Ramadan Helal, was shot the first day of Eid el-Adha holiday after a verbal argument with a police officer, who drew his gun and shot Helal in the chest. Helal was rushed to a nearby hospital suffering from excessive bleeding. A medical source said the bullet hit the upper abdominal muscle and caused damage to the liver, pancreas and intestines and remained next to the spine. He was operated on and was in intensive care until his death on Saturday. Shortly after the shooting last week, locals protested outside the city hall demanding justice, but were dispersed by the police, who accused them of attempting to attack the building and hurling rocks at the glass facade. Eyewitnesses reported violations from the police, saying they chased protesters and beat some brutally and used tear gas to force them to leave. A security source said they are promoting security in the city in case clashes are renewed. BM
