Clashes near U.S Embassy in Cairo

Dozens of people were wounded after two groups of protestors clashed near the U.S. embassy in downtown Cairo on Friday.

The clash occurred as one group of protesters called for the expulsion of the U.S. ambassador to Egypt, while the other group was supporters of Egypt’s military rulers. The two groups threw rocks at each other.

A health ministry official said that the casualties were mino.

The lifting of a travel ban on 43 Egyptian and foreign employees of four U.S. and one German nongovernmental organizations, who were accused of receiving funds illegally and operating without official licenses, has sparked an outcry among Egyptian lawmakers and judges.

MENA reported that 15 of the defendants, including eight Americans, three Serbians, two Germans, one Norwegian and one Palestinian, flew out of Cairo on a U.S. plane on March 1, after each of them paid a bail of 200,000 Egyptian pounds (about 33,000 U.S. dollars).

An Egyptian court started the trial of the 43 NGO workers on Feb. 26, but three judges who were dealing with the trial pulled out of the case on Feb. 28, leading the case to be transferred to another court.

The trial resumed on Thursday, with 14 Egyptians and one American, Robert Becker, who worked for the U.S. National Democratic Institute, appearing in court.

The court announced to postpone the trial to April 10 after Thursday’s session.