At least two Warraq Island residents were injured Sunday evening in renewed clashes with security forces near the Qollali ferry in the Warraq urban district after residents objected to police barriers restricting access to the ferry, an island resident familiar with the incident told Al Manassa.
The clashes followed mounting anger over an assault earlier that day linked to a ban on bringing construction materials onto the island, the source said, requesting anonymity. A resident filmed the incident and posted it on his personal Facebook account, alerting residents and fueling outrage before police later intervened.
A witness who also requested anonymity told Al Manassa that an officer assaulted a young resident after the resident refused to hand over his car keys. The officer then attacked the driver’s friend and a third young man who tried to intervene, leaving the driver injured.
The officer was attempting to enforce the ban on construction materials entering the island, the resident familiar with the incident said. Some residents occasionally attempt to transport materials across the Qollali ferry in private cars despite the ban. The source said the officer attempted to seize the vehicle without searching it.
For months, police stationed at the island’s entrances have tightened restrictions, including by blocking construction materials from entering, in an effort to pressure residents into accepting government-approved compensation and giving up their homes and land.
As anger escalated Sunday evening, clashes and stone-throwing broke out between security forces and dozens of island residents near the ferry and continued for hours, the source said.
The clashes began after residents objected to police barriers blocking their route to the ferry, the source said. Officers then ordered personnel to confront the protesters with batons and stones, prompting some residents to throw stones at the forces. At least two residents were injured.
The incident comes amid recurring tensions on the island in recent years over a dispute between some residents and the authorities over redevelopment plans, demolition orders and expropriations. Large segments of the population have refused to leave their homes, leading at earlier stages of the conflict to deadly confrontations, including the fatal police shooting of an island resident in July 2017.
The island has previously seen repeated clashes linked to bans on construction materials or the enforcement of demolition orders, including incidents documented in videos in recent months.
In May, clashes broke out again between island residents and security forces after police stopped a resident from bringing five bags of cement onto the island through the Nile ferry in the Warraq area and seized his car.
The incident escalated into limited clashes around the ferry before widening inside the island, with both sides throwing stones. No residents were arrested or injured.
In April, clashes broke out between island residents and security forces after several residents were detained and restrictions were imposed on the ferry. Police arrested two residents before later releasing them, according to Mada Masr’s coverage and a livestream on a Facebook page named Warraq Island.
In 2018, the Cabinet issued Decree No. 20 establishing a new urban community on the island, triggering mass expropriations. Authorities issued eviction orders and seized land to build 68 residential towers under the New Urban Communities Authority.
By July 2024, the Ministry of Housing said more than 76% of the island had been cleared—993 feddans out of 1,295 targeted for redevelopment.
In July 2022 the State Information Service rebranded the area as “Horus City,” announcing a redevelopment project requiring 17.5 billion Egyptian pounds (about $350 million) in investment, with projected revenues of 122.54 billion pounds ($2.45 billion) over 25 years. The plan features eight investment zones, luxury housing, commercial districts, a cultural area, green space, and twin riverfront marinas.
