BICOM

Twenty people were killed and dozens injured when protesters near the defence ministry came under attack in the Egyptian capital yesterday, medics said. Soldiers and police intervened to stop the clashes, but only several hours after the violence started.

Some reports have identified the attackers as local people, angry at the disruption caused by protests, which began on Saturday. However, many Egyptians suspect that the government turned a blind eye to the attack, or was even responsible, as the use of plain-clothes thugs was a familiar tactic of the old regime.

Two leading presidential candidates have suspended campaigning in protest at the authorities handling of the situation. Abdul Moneim Aboul Fotouh, an independent Islamist, and Mohammed Mursi, head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), criticised the government’s response.

In addition, the FJP and the Salafist Nour party, which together control 70% of the seats in parliament, decided to boycott a meeting with the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF).

The protesters, supporters of Salafist politician Hazem Abu Ismail, had been camped out since Saturday after the electoral commission barred the popular hardline Islamist from contesting next month’s presidential election. Abu Ismail was disqualified because his mother had dual Egyptian-US nationality, violating electoral rules. Abu Ismail complained that he was the victim of a plot against him by the military authorities, but the election commission found no evidence.