SOS Villages in Egypt suffer damage

Despite the President’s assurances that he will not stand for re-election when his term ends in September, demonstrators are calling for him to step down immediately.

Since Wednesday, violent clashes between pro- and anti-government protesters in central Cairo have left five people dead, and over 800 injured. Across the country as a whole, 300 people are estimated to have been killed as a result of the unrest which began ten days ago.

Two of the three SOS Children's Villages in the country have been targeted by mobs. The SOS Children's Villages in Cairo and Alexandria were broken into on Tuesday by groups of men climbing over the perimeter walls. At the SOS Village in Alexandria, the Village Director was injured and required medical attention. However, his injuries were not serious and he will make a full recovery.

At both Children's Villages, the children and SOS mothers are well and no structural damage has been reported. The situation has calmed down slightly, but as the general situation outside the Villages worsens, food has been stored in anticipation of potential shortages - access to shops is increasingly difficult and food prices have risen significantly caused by panic buying. Internet access and mobile telephone networks which had been disrupted were fully reconnected this morning.

We will keep you updated with the situation.