Looters ransacked a luxury hotel in Egypt’s capital on Tuesday, cashing in on violent clashes in Cairo by trashing shops and the lobby before police and protestors intervened, AP reported.
The latest round of unrest began on the second anniversary of Egypt’s revolution on Friday. The Semiramis InterContinental has stood on the frontline of clashes between riot police and protestors in Tahrir Square since the beginning of the movement that ousted Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
"Looters had tried several times to break in over the past two days, but when protesters beat back police on Monday night they operated with impunity," Nabila Samak, a spokeswoman for the hotel, told AP.
Samak then used social media to contact journalists and put out a call for help, which led security forces and protestors to band together to drive out the “thugs.”
Riot police guarded the hotel after the attack on Tuesday, as clashes showed no signs of abating.
The break-in, which happened despite large numbers of riot police nearby, will probably further damage Egypt’s already flagging tourism industry.
