Cairo: Saudi Embassy Attacked

Not many people know this, but the Israeli Embassy was not the only one attacked in Cairo last weekend.

The Embassy of Saudi Arabia was also stormed by a mob. Strangely the Egyptian media mostly kept quiet about it. The Muslim Brotherhood, which welcomed the assault on the ‘murderous Nazi Jewish invaders’ had nothing to say about the Saudi incident.

Several cars were set alight but there was only minor damage to the building. however, it begs the question – why the SaudiEmbassy?

The background is the long term tepid relationship between Saudis and Egyptians. The Gulf Arabs are not best loved by the people of the other Arab countries. This tension was exacerbated when Saudi Arabia offered the then President Mubarak asylum in January.

The spark which led to the weekend’s violence came in the first week of September when thousands of Egyptians were trapped in Jeddah airport while trying to return home after undertaking the minor pilgrimage of the Umrah.

The Egyptians claim they were deliberately held back for days because of the January uprising against Mubarak. Some said officials insulted them and referred to the ongoing trial of the former President.

Tempers flared and Jeddah airport was treated to the unprecedented scene of a mass protest in the terminal. The final insult came as the Egyptians arrived back in Cairo to discover that hundreds of pieces of luggage were missing.

The violence of Friday/Saturday has not been repeated, but there have been smaller peaceful protests outside the embassy demanding the Ambassador leave the country.