Just had a group of men come to our office overlooking #Tahrir looking for Al Jazeera journalists @NBCNews @AJArabic @AJEnglish @SherineT
— Ayman Mohyeldin (@AymanM) July 3, 2013
It’s being reported that security forces are searching for staff of Al-Jazeera who are hiding after the Arabic broadcaster was shut down earlier. Forces have already detained five staffers from Al-Jazeera, reports RT.
Al-Jazeera in Egypt has been shut down by security forces who are accusing the biggest broadcaster in the Middle-East of pro-Morsi and pro-Muslim Brotherhood sympathies. Reuters is reporting:
Karim El-Assiuti told Reuters his colleagues at the Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr channel were arrested while working in the studio. The station was prevented from broadcasting from a pro-Mursi rally and its crew there was also detained, he said.
Below you can hear the moment where forces loyal to the military coup raided the Al-Jazeera telling them to shut down. Al-Jazeera, which is Qatari owned, says:
Al Jazeera’s live Egypt service have been taken off air along with several other TV channels.
Reports from our correspondents say this happened during a live broadcast when security forces stormed the building and arrested the presenter, guests and producers.
That message so far has one comment:
Earlier today, the government of President Morsi was overthrown by a military coup which was popularly driven forward by throngs of people at Tahrir Square in Cairo. Despite the closure, Al-Jazeera has continued tweeting with reports, allegedly, from the ground:
High level of sexual assaults being reported at the demonstrations in #Egypt as protesters stay on the streets.
— AJELive (@AJELive) July 3, 2013