CAIRO: Over 22 people were injured late last night outside Maspiro, the Egyptian television headquarters, where Coptic Christians have held a sit-in for the past week. The injuries were a result of random shooting, which also led to the burning of a number of cars parked outside the Foreign Ministry. Priest Philopateer, the leader of the strike, said he received threats on Friday and told the security officials, who responded, "We can't do anything, you can tell the army forces." Philopateer blamed Egypt's Interior Minister, Mansour el-Essawy, for such an incident, considering his declarations stressing the necessity of dissolving Maspiro's strike as a "green light" for thugs to implement their threats. The Coptic priest said the shooting began a few minutes after midnight and continued for nearly two hours. He said the events took place in the presence of police, who did not interfere. He also accused police forces of preventing ambulances from reaching to the area. The leader of the strike described those who opened fire on the protesters as ‘thugs' and said some were bearded. In the same context, the violent action fueled the anger of Coptic protesters especially after rumors that some of the injured died before reaching hospitals. Youm7's correspondent was assaulted while covering last night's events at Maspiro.
