AFRICA/EGYPT - At least ten victims in the clashes in front of the Ministry of Defence in Cairo

Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - At least ten people have died in the clashes in Cairo, in front of the Ministry of Defence, at dawn today. A group of armed men, nicknamed "Baltajiya", attacked a sit-in organized by Salafis demonstrators to protest against the exclusion from the presidential elections of their candidate, Hazem Salah Abu Ismail.
Young people also participated in the protest movement "April 6" (which gave rise to the revolt last year that led to the resignation of Mubarak), demanding the resignation of the military junta that effectively has been governing Egypt since the fall of the former President. The Baltajiya are groups of criminals often used during the Mubarak regime to crack down on dissidents, acting as an informal auxiliary force of the police.
One of the presidential candidates, Abdel Muniam Abu al-Futuh, announced he had suspended his campaign. In a message posted on his Twitter profile, the candidate, escaped from the Muslim Brotherhood group, and announced that "from today my campaign is suspended". The candidate criticizes the ways in which "the military junta treats those who protest against it" and says that "the State must protect those who protest peacefully. The demonstrators do not have to defend themselves every day by those who attack them to disperse the protest." (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 02/05/2012)