CAIRO, Nov 21 (Reuters) – A studio used by the Al Jazeera TV
network in Cairo was set on fire on Wednesday in an attack that
an employee said was carried out by a mob that had been chanting
slogans against the Qatari-owned station.
The studio overlooks Tahrir Square and is located near the
scene of violent clashes between youths and the security forces
this week in which dozens of people have been injured. Those
confrontations grew out of protests to mark the first
anniversary of lethal street battles in the same area.
The first-floor office used by Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr, a
station set up after the uprising that toppled President Hosni
Mubarak, was badly damaged by fire.
The studio’s windows were smashed and two empty bottles,
which had apparently been converted into fire bombs, were found
inside the office.
The channel was dedicated to covering Egyptian affairs.
The Interior Ministry described the perpetrators as “trouble
makers” who had attacked police officers when they had arrived
to investigate, the state news agency reported. The public
prosecutor has ordered an investigation.
“There were 200 to 250 people gathered outside the studio
chanting against the channel,” Ahmed Dessouki, a producer with
the channel, told Reuters television.
