Egypt’s Mansoura University Closes Doors After Student Violence

Mansoura University in the Nile Delta governorate of Daqahliya closed its doors indefinitely on Tuesday following violent clashes on campus between protesting students.

For weeks, students have been protesting what they describe as ‘administrative negligence’ on campus and at the university’s hospital, which, they claim, led to the recent death of first-year student Gehad Mousa.

Clashes broke out on Tuesday when some students barricaded the university’s administrative building while others protested the move, according to Al-Ahram’s Arabic-language news website.

The group that attempted to barricade the building reportedly included members of the ‘Hazemoon’ movement, named after popular Salafist leader Hazem Abu-Ismail. Some Hazemoon allegedly came from outside the university, reportedly stoking clashes.

Birdshot, petrol bombs and stones were employed in the ensuing violence. Police arrived at the scene two hours after the clashes erupted, Al-Ahram reported.

Earlier this month, Mousa was hit by a car – allegedly driven by a university professor – on campus. Students accuse university authorities of covering up evidence of the professor’s culpability.

Protesting students demand the professor’s dismissal and the resignation of the head of the university hospital.

Tuesday’s protest, dubbed ‘Tuesday of violence,’ followed another rally last week in which thousands of students turned out to demand justice for the slain student.

Ahram