Copy-cat protesters set fire to themselves

Protesters set themselves on fire in Egypt, Algeria and Mauritania yesterday in apparent copy-cat attempts at self-immolation inspired by the act that helped trigger a popular uprising in Tunisia.

The desperate acts raised concerns that the practice could become a trend among activists seeking to force change in a region that has little or no tolerance for dissent.

The Egyptian man was engulfed by flames after he ignited himself outside the parliament building in central Cairo. Policemen guarding the building and motorists driving by at the time used fire extinguishers to put out the blaze, according to security officials.

A health ministry spokesman said the man was taken to the hospital with light burns, mostly to his face, neck and legs. Officials identified him as Abdu Abdel-Moneim Hamadah, 48, a restaurateur from Qantara, east of Cairo.

A Mauritanian man reportedly unhappy with the government also was hospitalised after setting himself on fire.

Witnesses say Yacoub Ould Dahoud, 43, drove to a government building in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, and torched himself in his car. Foreign ministry official Abdou Ould Sidi said police rushed him to the hospital.

Algeria has reported cases of self-immolation in seven towns since Saturday, two of them yesterday. In Ghardaia, a man suffering from a chronic illness set himself on fire because of a dispute over medical costs. He was hospitalised with burns, said a local official.

Meanwhile in the town of Mascara, passers-by stopped a fishmonger who had poured petrol on himself and kept him from setting himself alight.

The incidents appeared to be attempts to copy the fatal self-immolation last month of Mohamed Bouazizi, 26. That event triggered the protests that led to the fall of Tunisia's president.

Mr Bouazizi set himself on fire after police confiscated produce he was selling without a permit.