Egyptian Museum Hit With Molotov Cocktail, Witness Says

CAIRO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Petrol bombs were thrown in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Wednesday, a Reuters witness said. An Egyptologist said some had landed in the gardens of a museum housing the world's greatest collection of Pharaonic treasures.

The Egyptian museum itself however was unscathed.

The Egyptologist, who had been in contact with Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said it seemed the petrol bombs were being thrown by protesters demonstrating in favour of President Hosni Mubarak. "So far the museum is safe, but we don't know what's going to happen, because the Mubarak supporters are out of control," the Egyptologist, who declined to be identified, added.

Looters broke into the Egyptian Museum on Friday evening, smashing several statues and damaging two mummies.

The army moved to extinguish the flames, a source from the Ministry of Defence told Reuters. Army fire engines were called to the scene to ensure that fire did no damage to "army property", the source said. (Reporting by Marwa Awad and Patrick Werr; Writing by Shaimaa Fayed and Tom Perry)

Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Find all of HuffPost's coverage on the crisis in Egypt here.

Comments

[andthatsnotall]

01:02 PM on 02/08/2011

I'm not making light of the turmoil and violence in Egypt. I feel awful about it. But is this how they show their displeasure with their government?

Why do people destroy works of art? That is so sad. I would rather people steal the art and take care of it until the unrest is over and then return it. But to ruin artifacts thousands of years old? I just question why people would want to destroy their national treasures. That makes no sense at all.


One of a kind pieces that are precious to the world are becoming dust and debris.

[Nix 007]

07:38 AM on 02/03/2011

I support the right of people to express their freedom and desire for change. However, it would be *great* if it didn't come at the expense of amazing historical artifacts that belong not just to Egypt, but to the world. :(

[blaharumph]

10:50 AM on 02/03/2011

it's not the folks that want change, it's the folks that want mubarak. (see article)

[Eve-Lynne Miyasaki]

05:14 AM on 02/03/2011

Why is al-jazeera english off line? DDos attsck?

[TurnToTheLeft]

01:12 AM on 02/03/2011

The world grieves for the art vandalized by Mubarik's paid thugs who work as under-cover police. How could one destroy one's ancient heritage! CRAVEN!

[wowme]

09:58 PM on 02/02/2011

Oh no not the museum!

[anastasiabeaverhousen]

06:17 PM on 02/02/2011

And, just in from John Bolton: "See? I told you we should have already bombedIran"!!!

[SeanMartin]

05:27 PM on 02/02/2011

Anderson Cooper attacked and injured by a mob while reporting from Cairo, and just below that on HP, Kim Kardashian is upset about a nipple.

That is *so* America...

[wowme]

09:57 PM on 02/02/2011

Haha I shouldn't be laughing and its sad but can't help it.

[ProfessorDuh]

04:33 PM on 02/02/2011

Fox News is selling a "THREAT OF RADICAL ISLAM" scenario today, no matter what the facts are. Their propaganda is as predictable as their annual, phony-baloney War on Christmas.
http://www.newshounds.us/2011/02/01/even_hannitys_conservative_guests_think_hes_exaggerating_threat_of_radical_islam_in_egypt.php

[jimboy71]

04:43 PM on 02/02/2011

War on Christmas? Which one? There are two...both the holiday AND the islands, although only one has crabs...

[blessedfrog]

06:31 PM on 02/02/2011

Radical Islam thrives when people get desperate (from being economically + politically oppressed) and cling to it - as that is all they have

Repressive Governments who rob their people fuel religious zealots - not open society

[Bill Sampson]

06:33 PM on 02/02/2011

That is the cause of radical anything!!!

[ProfessorDuh]

06:53 PM on 02/02/2011

Open societies, unfortunately, permit fasclst propagandists to peddle authoritarian lies to a deliberately dumbed-down population. What "news" channel gives you economic analysis by Hooters' girls? Literally.

[Aquest]

03:14 PM on 02/02/2011

Cheney will be coming on TV saying that its just the same fire bombing we're seeing over and over.

[david5000]

03:08 PM on 02/02/2011

I get the impression that the insurgency is afraid to lose any election , this explain their reluctance to wait for the legal presidential mandate to end in September.

They want someone appointed NOT now elected.

Tough luck, they have to field candidates and let the chips fall where they may.

[ProfessorDuh]

04:36 PM on 02/02/2011

No. They're afraid the right-=wing dictator will "count" the votes, just the way he always does.

[Mastiff]

05:21 PM on 02/02/2011

Mubarak has been in power 30 years, and the government is made up of family members and the party faithful. Of course they want someone who isn't currently elected. Mubarak has actively supressed the other opposition parties, except for the MB, which makes an effective boogeyman.

ElBaradei is a popular choice. He's the head of an opposition party, a legal scholar and international diplomat. You might recognize his name as the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. even the Muslim Brotherhood has said they will support him.

The reason they don't want to wait is because Mubarak has manipulated the elections for 30 years. Even if he's not running, they don't want him selecting a successor (likely his son, though maybe just a loyal flunky) and using the next 6 months or so manipulting the next election.

[Transcendentobserver]

02:47 PM on 02/02/2011

Headline/posst disconnect alert! Headline: "Egyptian Museum on Fire". Post quote: "The Egyptian museum itself however was unscathed." Does the Huffpost editor read the report he/she distills into the headline? This is print journalism run amuk.

[faith]

03:17 PM on 02/02/2011

I agree with you. The headnote does not agree with the content whatsoever. This is the type of thing that gets people pretty riled up. Especially in today's age of sound bite information.

[Mastiff]

05:43 PM on 02/02/2011

If this was "print" journalism, they wouldn't be able to correct it. Oh look, they already did.

[blessedfrog]

06:34 PM on 02/02/2011

I guess the headline writer just scans the story

and if they see 'santa clause' and 'expired' some where on the page

they madly craft the headline: :SANTA CLAUSE BRUTAL MURDER MYSTERY

[Earl Davis]

02:38 PM on 02/02/2011

I just saw Sarah Palin charging a crowd of protesters riding a one-eyed camel, beating widows and orphans with a buggy whip. She was wearing an I HEART MUBARAK tee shirt. At least I think that was her.

[David57]

02:52 PM on 02/02/2011

She had "Long Live Mubarak" written on her hand!

[Rush 2112]

03:38 PM on 02/02/2011

She's more of a fly around and sh00t from the air kind of gal.

[SF TKF]

02:35 PM on 02/02/2011

Egypt's bid to repatriate the treasures of Ancient Egypt is pretty much dead in the water now. Who is going to return something like the bust of Nefertiti when looters just smashed and/or stole countless items?

[Mastiff]

02:34 PM on 02/02/2011

For the people complaining that the headline is wrong;

You know this demonstration and revolution is going on right now, don't you? This isn't a reality show where cameras have been set up at every intersection and the referees stop the action to keep things orderly. If you want you news as it happens, literally within minutes of the events, you're going to have to accept some confusion and conflicting reports.
]
Traditional newspapers and broadcasts have the luxury of an editor and cross-checking facts. Raw, immediate news sacrifices that to get you the raw data as it comes in, then checks it when it can. The offical story won't be clear for hours or even days. Get real.

[Earl Davis]

02:42 PM on 02/02/2011

Wrong and wronger. The actual person Reuters quoted for article said the fires were on the garden, not the building itself. That was the quote. The headline is intentionally misleading. There was no time lapse involved.

[Mastiff]

02:50 PM on 02/02/2011

Except several hours ago, there were reports that soldiers and civilians were fighting fires in the building. Apparently that was wrong, but it was reported in several sources. Listen to the BBC, CBS, CNN, Reuters, FOX... they are all pulling in stories and sorting them on the fly. This may surprise you, but the Reuters witness was not the only source of all info coming out of the country.

[Mastiff]

03:00 PM on 02/02/2011

And look. The headline has been updated to reflect the situation. The building next to the museum was gutted. The museum was hit, but only the garden burned. Are you surprised that people in the middle of a riot have conflicting stories?

[Bill Sampson]

06:40 PM on 02/02/2011

Is this an attempt to defend fox news?

[Mastiff]

06:57 PM on 02/02/2011

Nope. Just a reality check for people who are surprised that their free, instant news sometimes has discrepencies.

[Jeffrey Garza Falcon]

02:31 PM on 02/02/2011

Born in Arizona, moved to Babalona, that funky Tut. King Tut.