Thousands of Egyptian students stormed the offices of the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar on Tuesday, in response to a massive food poisoning outbreak at a Cairo university, ABC News reports.
Health ministry official Khaled el-Khateib said the food poisoning incident left 479 students hospitalized, according to ABC. The university responsible for the poisoning is the al-Azhar University, which hands out degrees in science, humanities and religious studies.
The university is also affiliated with the Al-Azhar mosque, "the world's foremost seat of Sunni Muslim learning," reports ABC. The food poisoning is related to a meal that was served in the universities dormitories in Cairo's Nasr City district.
Amidst the recent economic problems faced by the regime of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, this is just one of many detrimental issues to hit the struggling country. However, the controversial president did take the time to visit some of the sicken students in the hospital.
In the struggling country, food poisoning is not uncommon in universities as health requirements are rarely met, which results in bad hygiene and unsafe conditions. But, this incident is the biggest food poisoning outbreak in many years, ABC reported.
As a result, the offices of el-Tayeb were stormed by mob of angry students who blocked the Salah Salem road, a vital road linking the city's south to eastern districts. Some students even broke into the offices on the university's main campus in Cairo.
This was the second day of protesting. Students began blocking roads outside of their dormitories on Monday, chanting disgruntled phrases towards the university.
