Egyptians Fire Shafiq Campaign Office in Fayoum

Dozens of young Egyptians ransacked the campaign office of presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq in Fayoum city south of Cairo on Sunday.

“Tens of young Egyptians stormed into the headquarters of presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq in Fayoum destroying all the contents of the headquarters including furniture and computer devices,” the state’s Al-Ahram news website said

It was the second attack on a Shafiq campaign office in recent days. Protesters stormed his headquarters in Cairo’s Dokki district on May 28 and set fire to storage rooms, destroying campaign posters and banners.

One of Shafiq’s campaigners in Cairo, Karim Salem, said he was not aware of the attack in Fayoum.

Shafiq was the last prime minister of deposed president Hosni Mubarak and his success in getting through to a second round of Egypt’s presidential election has angered opponents who see him as a symbol of a regime that they took to the streets to oust in mass protests last year.

Footage posted on Al-Ahram website showed young men destroying and burning Shafiq’s pictures and banners and others chanting: “Fayoum says Ahmed Shafiq is feloul (an Arabic word used to refer to remnant of an ousted political regime).”

Shafiq, a former air force commander, will face the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Mursi in a run-off on June 16-17 described to be a contest between the two most polarizing and controversial figures in the race.

The attack could have been sparked by large demonstrations on Saturday by Egyptians who wanted Mubarak executed and were unhappy that he was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the killing of protesters during last year’s uprising and the acquittal of senior police officials.

Mubarak’s police apparatus was hated by many Egyptians who saw it an icon of corruption and injustice and was a main reason for the eruption of the anti-Mubarak revolt.