Hundreds detained in Egypt after clashes

CAIRO

Egyptian demonstrators confront riot police during protests outside the defense ministry in Cairo’s Abbassiya district. The military detained 300 people after clashes. AFP photo

Egypt’s military on May 5 ordered 300 people detained after deadly clashes between troops and
anti-army protesters in Cairo and imposed a new curfew, as tensions spiral ahead of a key presidential poll.

The arrests were announced as the country’s ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi attended an unprecedented public funeral for a soldier killed in the clashes. Military prosecutors said the 300, including nine journalists, “will be held for 15 days pending investigation” into clashes in the Abbassiya district on May 4 that left two people including a soldier dead and at least 300 injured.

Curfew imposed
Hours later, a military source told Agence France-Presse all the women detained will be released.
The army also imposed an overnight curfew around the defense ministry for a second successive night, from late May 5 until early May 6, a military source and state television said. After hours of overnight questioning, those held were accused of assaulting army officers and soldiers, assembling in a military zone and preventing members of the armed forces from carrying out their work, the source said.