Two children were injured by security forces on Sunday, after authorities fired birdshot and tear gas at residents of Warraq Island who were demonstrating against police aggression, an eyewitness told Mada Masr. Security authorities clash periodically with the residents of Warraq, who have been engaged in a years-long battle against forced displacement amid government plans to expropriate land for a contentious redevelopment project. Hundreds of residents gathered to protest police abuses against residents after a police officer struck a girl earlier on the same day, leaving her with a head injury, according to the eyewitness who is also a resident. The girl was with a relative near the ferry that links the Nile bank area of Warraq al-Hadar to the island, they said, when an altercation broke out between the pair and the officer. As the officer moved to arrest the relative, she tried to defend him and the officer hit her. Residents stepped in and managed to free both before returning to the island. Sunday’s demonstration later escalated into stone-throwing between protestors and security forces, who responded by firing teargas and birdshot at the crowds. The two children, who were passing through the area, were struck and injured. The protest ended around 7 pm, after participants decided to disperse amid disagreements over whether to continue following the injury of the two children, the eyewitness said. They added that residents have been repeatedly subjected to abuse by security forces while using the ferry crossing from Warraq al-Hadar. Authorities barring people or building materials from using the ferry to cross to the island have prompted several disputes with residents over recent years, while arrest campaigns have targeted community organizers and residents refusing to leave their homes. The post Security forces injure 2 children at Warraq protest after firing teargas, birdshot at crowd first appeared on Mada Masr.
