A day of tension among police culminated in a fire at the country’s interior ministry. The blaze lasted a few hours but was put out at night by the authorities.
Footage of the fire were shown on national television, with the black plumes of smoke rising from the building complex as firefighters raced to stop it from spreading. Apparently, they were successful.
According to police on the scene, the fire began after a storage area on the sixth floor was set ablaze and spread to the criminal evidence building.
There has been no official cause of the fire, but government officials have blamed police, who were protesting for better pay and working conditions, as the culprits.
One police officer told Bikya Masr that the accusation was “absolutely wrong.” He added that the police were “demanding our rights as citizens of law enforcement to improve our standards of living in the face of a corrupt past and to better serve the Egyptian people.”
The thousands of police officers have been demanding their voices be heard since they returned to the streets earlier this month after being involved in violent attacks against protesters during Egypt’s 18 days of protest that ended February 11.
One police officer was quoted by the French news agency AFP reiterating that the protesters had nothing to do with the fire.
In February, officials said former police officers demanding reinstatement hurled firebombs at the interior ministry and set several vehicles on fire.