Protests were held in North Sinai and Damietta Governorates on Monday by citizens enraged by recent kidnappings, part of what they see as a broader lack of security.
In the city of Arish in North Sinai, hundreds of citizens blocked the main squares and roads to protest the police's failure to find out who was behind a series of recent kidnappings. Protesters set fire to tires in downtown's Freedom Square, before heading to a demonstration outside the North Sinai Governorate building.
Security officials were remarkably absent from the protests, while the governor was busy holding a public conference.
So few security forces were deployed to the city streets that traffic officers were needed to maintain order, further angering citizens who want a stronger security presence, especially at the city's entrances.
In Damietta Governorate, hundreds of citizens of the village of Farskour blocked the road leading to Daqahlia Governorate for four hours late Monday after learning that a local woman had been kidnapped while visiting her doctor.
The kidnapped woman's husband had received a text message from her mobile number ordering him to pay a LE500,000 ransom and warning him against informing police, multiple families of the village told Al-Masry Al-Youm. Security officials have promised village residents they will return the woman and arrest her kidnappers.
Newly appointed Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim has vowed to restore security in Egypt and begun campaigns to arrest criminals and collect unlicensed weapons. According to ministry reports, the campaigns have thus far focused on Cairo and Giza governorates, but it remains unknown as to when they will expand to areas outside the capital.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
