CAIRO: According to eyewitness accounts, unknown persons shouting “Islamic, Islamic” attacked a protest marching through the residential streets of Cairo's Shubra neighborhood on Thursday. The attackers positioned themselves on rooftops and threw rocks and Molotov cocktails bottles at the crowd below. The number of those who have sustained injuries remains unknown. Marchers replied with calls of “selmiya” or “peaceful,” as the attacks continues. Mina Thabet of the Maspero Youth Union told Bikyamasr.com that ten of the marchers have been hospitalized for the injuries they sustained in the attack. “They were throwing stones and glass bottles, and shot live ammunition at us,” he said. Security forces arrived at the scene and threw tear gas at the crowd to disburse them. The riot police arrived with four armored vehicles and hundreds of soldiers in an attempt to contain the violence. The march was meant to observe the 40 day anniversary of the Maspero massacre on October 9, when the military attacked a Coptic Christian protest leaving 27 dead and under 300 wounded. The street in Shubra remains closed to people and cars while security forces continue its efforts to halt the violence. BM
