Egypt protesters fling chairs at ex-PM
2012-01-07 08:00
Cairo - Former Egyptian prime minister and presidential hopeful Ahmed Shafiq was forced to flee a campaign rally after protesters threw chairs at him and demanded he leave the area, according to reports on Friday.
Shafiq, who has announced he was running for the top job, was addressing a rally in the impoverished Cairo neighbourhood of Imbaba on Thursday evening when some residents began chanting for him to leave.
"Shafiq! Get out!," they shouted prompting the ex-premier and former air force commander to lose his temper, according to footage of the event posted on the internet.
"This is not how Egypt is going to move forward," an angry Shafiq shouted back at protesters. "You will not be useful to Egypt in this way."
Minor scuffles broke out between his supporters and his foes, who threw chairs at the podium forcing Shafiq's body guards to swiftly escort him out of the area, the independent daily Al-Masry al-Youm reported.
Shafiq, the last premier to serve under ousted president Hosni Mubarak, was sacked in February under street pressure from protesters demanding the removal of all remnants of the former regime.
