Merchants from Cairo’s Friday market, which was set ablaze on Tuesday as the result of a car accident, blocked the capital’s Ring Road on Thursday and pelted passing cars with stones. Merchants demand remuneration from the government for losses incurred as a result of the fire.
Security services eventually managed to disperse the protesters and arrest eight of their numbers.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif ordered the relocation of the market to 15 May City, as had been decided by Cairo Governor Abdel Azim Wazir before Tuesday’s disaster. Nazif also ordered the renovation of the overpass from which a car plummeted onto the market before bursting into flames.
Wazir, for his part, said the new area allocated for the market in 15 May City extended over 15 acres of land and provided all services required by merchants.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
