Monday, May 28, 2012

Egyptian democracy update: Protesters torch candidate's headquarters

Defaced posters with Arabic reading "Egypt is for all, President Ahmed Shafiq" and pictures of presidential runoff candidate Ahmed Shafiq are seen near his ransacked campaign headquarters in Cairo, Egypt Tuesday, May 29, 2012. A mob set fire late Monday to Shafiq's campaign headquarters, the first sign of unrest after the voting yielded divisive candidates. The attack on Shafiq's office came just hours after the country's election commission announced that he would face the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate, Mohammed Morsi, in a June 16-17 runoff. (AP Photo)
CAIRO/ALEXANDRIA (Reuters) - Demonstrators furious that Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister made it into the run-off for the country's presidential election set ablaze his campaign headquarters on Monday, underscoring the divisive outcome of the nation's historic vote.

The campaign offices of Ahmed Shafiq, viewed as a symbol of Mubarak's rule, were set on fire after a group of protesters broke into and vandalized the premises, the state news agency reported. An official in the fire service confirmed the blaze had been extinguished without causing any casualties.

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