Students in university campuses across Egypt have vowed to hold protests in the second week of the new academic year condemning the arrest and suspension of fellow students. The students are also protesting the presence of security forces, including private security firm Falcon, on and around campuses. The Students Against the Coup (SAC) group issued a statement Sunday saying a new wave of protests are to take place at the Universities of Cairo, Ain Shams, Suez, Al-Azhar, Mansoura, Al-Fayoum, Zagazig, Minya, Helwan, and Kafr Al-Sheikh. The group said that the oppression of students will result in an "uprising", where they expect more confrontation with police and Falcon security firm. Last week the group held a number of protests clashing with riot police and Falcon personnel. Police fired tear gas to disperse student protests at Alexandria University and raided buildings resulting in 28 injuries and at least 30 arrests, according to the SAC. One student suffered a head injury after being hit by rubber birdshot, which police used to disperse protests. Up to 250 students from the University were attempting to destroy the campus gates, throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at security personnel, said the Ministry of Interior. The Ministry added that police arrested 37 students as a result. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Association of Freedom of Thought and Expression demanded the Egyptian authorities release university students arrested. Since the start of the academic year on 11 October at least 163 students have been arrested, according to Democracy Index.
