Egypt boots public servants from railways over Brotherhood links
Egyptian authorities blame Muslim Brotherhood-linked staff for a series of deadly rail accidents and have moved scores of them from operational roles.
After a series of deadly rail accidents, Egypt’s railway authority has removed around 190 public servants from their positions for alleged links with the Muslim Brotherhood group.
Mohamed Hussein, the authority’s chief of human resources, said Aug. 24 that four employees had been sacked and the rest were moved to administrative roles. He said the employees were working on the train signaling control, in workshops and as train drivers.
“A list of Brotherhood-linked employees and saboteurs was sent to the security agencies and they were booted out by the railway authority,” he said. “No individual will be appointed in sensitive positions in the railway authority unless he is cleared by the security agencies,” he added.
Egypt witnessed a series of deadly train accidents in recent months. Three people were killed July 30 when a train heading from Cairo to the Nile Delta governorate of Dakahliya hit a car. On April 18, 23 passengers were killed when a train derailed in the city of Toukh in Dakahliya. Three days earlier, 15 passengers were injured when two railcars derailed on the Cairo-Mansoura train. Two trains also collided in Sohag in southern Egypt, killing at least 20 people and wounding scores.
