Interior Minister Ahmed Gamal Eddin said Friday that security forces began on Wednesday a broad security crackdown in the areas surrounding Manzala Lake in Daqahlia Governorate.
Gamal Eddin said in a statement to state television that dangerous criminals took root in the area surrounding the lake following the revolution, and pose a threat to public security and the safety of citizens.
The state TV website reported Friday morning that Gamal Eddin visited the troops participating in the crackdown on Friday morning. The campaign includes security forces from the public security sector, the Central Security Forces, and the security directorates of Port Said, Alexandria and Damietta.
Gamal Eddin said that bloody clashes took place between the security forces and the criminals.
Al-Masry Al-Youm quoted security sources Friday as saying that the clashes resulted in the wounding of two Central Security Forces soldiers and a citizen bystander.
The sources added that the Armed Forces and border guards participated in the campaign, beside 300 police officers and 8,000 CSF troops.
Warplanes were used in the raid for the first time in the lake area, the sources said, to cover security forces during missions.
The same sources said that the troops arrested 428 fugitive criminals and seized six automatic weapons along with other weapons and ammunition.
A number of fishermen at Manzala Lake and members of the independent fishermen's union in Daqahlia Governorate had staged a protest in front of the Journalists Syndicate on Monday against the deterioration of security in the area and the presence of thugs and criminal groups that prevented them from fishing.
