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Man Sets Himself on Fire Near Egyptian Parliament

18 January 2011 04:39 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. An Egyptian man set himself on fire Monday near Egypt’s parliament building in what officials suspect was a protest against impoverished living standards, APA reports quoting â€œThe Voice of Americaâ€.

The self-immolation resembles one that spurred recent demonstrations in Tunisia.

Witnesses say the man in Cairo doused himself with gasoline and then set it alight as people tried to come close to him.

Policemen put the flames out. The man was taken to a Cairo hospital.

The Associated Press identified the man as a 48-year-old owner of a small restaurant from Qantara east of Cairo.

It was the second self-immolation report of the day.

A 43-year-old Mauritanian man allegedly dissatisfied with his government also was hospitalized after setting himself on fire in Nouakchott.