Aljazeera Mubshar Misr’s Tahrir studio torched by angry mob (Photo: Zeinab El-Gundy)
The offices of Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr, located above Cairo’s Tahrir Square, was torched by unknown assailants at 10:30am on Wednesday, as street battles in the vicinty between protesters and Egyptian security forces enter the third day.
Egypt’s prosecutor-general Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud has ordered an investigation into the arson attack.
Eyewitnesses at the scene told Ahram Online that the mob stormed the office after the Egyptian wing of the international news channel aired an interview with a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, who criticised the groups currently fighting in the neighbouring Mohamed Mahmoud Street.
The assailants torched the media bureau with Molotov cocktails, the police together with citizens present at the scene attempted to extinguish the fire, eyewitnesses say.
Few Al-Jazeera crew members were at the offices at that time of the attack. Sources from the TV station told Ahram Online that it will continue broadcasting from a different location.
Clashes between police and protestors have been ongoing since Monday in Mohamed Mahmoud and Qasr Al-Aini Streets adjacent to the flashpoint square.
The fighting started during a demonstration commemorating the victims of last year’s five day battle with the police in the same area, which left 47 dead and thousands injured.
