MATROUH, Egypt: There were clashes between the residents of El-Hamam and police forces, which caused injuries and disrupted peace in El-Hamam in the governorate of Matrouh. “The clashes resulted in injuries of three soldiers of police station forces insurance, who were shot, one officer with bruises on his head and three residents were shot in the feet. They are all receiving treatment now at El-Hamam Central Hospital,” said a security source in Matrouh security department. He added three police cars were burnt down and another vehicle is under custody. The source said the incident began after with the CID Directorate campaigning to search for unlicensed weapons. The distribution of dangerous weapons spread recently due to smuggling from Libya, where the weapon possessors were arrested. The campaign didn't succeed and no unlicensed weapons were found. Residents of El-Hamam joined the residents of El-Ameed region and they chased after the police and threw stones at the police station in response to the campaign. Approximately 400 people from El-Hamam at the North Coast attacked the El-Hamam police station yesterday. The police started firing to disperse the residents to prevent them from attacking the police station. “The officers shot a shepherd by mistake during the incident, which angered the mob and caused them to attack the police station. The clashes resulted with the residents setting fire to the police station,” said a witness. Some relatives of the injured said two officers attacked two residency houses in the region and assaulted the women inside. The police justified and said the campaign had prior permission from prosecution to arrest the dealers and weapons. The campaign was secured by Central Security forces, who searched two houses and not find anything. During their search, they found an old woman who screamed and fainted. After searching, they went back to the police station, where they were surprised by a large number of residents surrounding the police station. The residents threw stones and shot at the station, where officers dealt with them from the roof of the station. The clashes resulted in four injuries of the police and three injuries of the residents. Army forces were transferred to the area to stop clashes between the officers and the residents, to secure the police station, block off streets leading to the station and control the region.
