Al-Jazeera's Cairo Office, Website Attacked

A protester holds a banner reading in Arabic: ''Murder Mubarak'' as demonstrators gather in Tahrir Square, Cairo, on 04 February 2011. Photo by EPA/BGNES

The Arabic language news channel Al-Jazeera, which was banned since last week to operate in Egypt, has announced its Cairo offices had been attacked.

The Guardian reported that Al-Jazeera's Cairo office was ransacked by pro-government "gang of thugs" as their website had also come under attack by hackers.

The attackers stormed into the office and burned the TV channel's equipment.

"Unknown persons came into the Al-Jazeera bureau in Cairo and destroyed equipment inside," the TV channel said in an official statement, without giving more details.

The website, which was hacked earlier Friday, had a banner advertisement replaced with a slogan "Together for the collapse of Egypt".

"Our website has been under relentless attack since the onset of the uprisings in Egypt and we are currently investigating what happened today. While the deliberate attacks this morning were an attempt to discredit us we will continue our impartial and comprehensive coverage of these unprecedented events," said Al-Jazeera's spokesman.

On Sunday, the Egyptian Information Ministry ordered Al-Jazeera to stop operating in the country and took away the staff's credentials.

The attacks on foreign media in Cairo have intensified this week. According to CNN, dozens of journalists from Egypt, Great Britain, the United States, India, Australia, Greece and other countries have reported being jumped, beaten, detained and interrogated.

Earlier Friday, it was reported that two Bulgarian journalists, reporter Ivan Vilchev and cameraman Ognian Krasteva, have also been detained for 40 minutes by Egyptian police because they were immediately close to the Tahrir Square - the heart of the protests that have been going on for ten days already.

Anti-government demonstrators demand the resignation of Egypt President Hosni Mubarak, who refused to step down after nearly 30-year rule.

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