Brawls at Egyptian opposition HQ

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7713325.stm

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Several people are reported to have been injured in clashes at the Cairo office of an Egyptian opposition party.

Reports say the clashes, during which a fire broke out, involved rival faction members of the Ghad party, once led by the jailed dissident Ayman Nour.

Factions loyal to Nour "clashed violently" with those loyal to his designated successor, police said.

Nour mounted an unprecedented challenge to President Hosni Mubarak in 2005 but was jailed for fraud soon afterwards.

The contested presidential elections were a first for Egypt; the leader of the Ghad party - meaning tomorrow - came a distant second, and was imprisoned for forging supporters' signatures three months later.

His supporters said the charges laid against him were politically motivated and the US state department called the decision a "miscarriage of justice" and a setback for democracy.

Nour was expelled from the Ghad party because of his criminal record, but some supporters remained loyal and the party split.

Nour loyalists accuse the ruling National Democratic Party of fomenting the division by supporting the faction of new leader Moussa Mustapha.

Last month, they issued a new appeal for him to be released on the grounds of poor health.