The Ministry of Interior denied the involvement of policemen in an attack against doctors in Benha Teaching Hospital, in an official statement Saturday night.
“A fight took place between a car agency owner and the doctors at the hospital for allegedly not providing adequate medical care for his sick wife,” ministry spokesperson Abo Bakr Abdel Karim said.
Three anonymous gunmen attacked the hospital’s gynaecology department in the early hours of Saturday, despite the ban on men entering this section. One of the armed men purportedly claimed to be a police officer.
Two of the doctors sustained concussions due to the attack, and the hospital was subsequently closed. The prosecution ordered transcribe review of footage from the hospital cameras to investigate the incident.
The Pharmacists Syndicate in Qalyubia condemned the attack on doctors, saying: “It saddens us to hear about continuous attacks on doctors, who are supposed to be protected.”
It also called on authorities to start taking legal procedures with the incident and prevent further attacks on hospitals, in a statement released Saturday.
A man and his wife had checked into the hospital to check on the woman’s medical status. However, shortly afterwards, three men stormed into the department, despite the ban on men entering this section, according to syndicate board member Hani Mehanny.
“One of the three [attackers] tried to drag a doctor out of the operation room while he was operating on a woman who suffered [internal] bleeding,” he said in a phone interview with TenTV channel Saturday.
“Hospitals are a sacred place and should not witness such attacks, especially when it comes to the gynaecology department; no men should be allowed to enter at all.”
Last week, two doctors at Matariya Teaching Hospital alleged that a group of conscripts attacked them at the hospital repeatedly, and that they were subjected to insults, severe beatings, and threats.
The Doctors Syndicate harshly condemned the attack, and is scheduled to vote on 12 February on a general nationwide strike in response to the incident.
To be updated
