Egyptians set themselves ablaze after Tunisia unrest

[Joanne98]

An Egyptian man set himself on fire near parliament on Tuesday and another one tried to follow suit, echoing an act of self-immolation in Tunisia that triggered mass protests and helped oust the president.

Similar cases have been reported in Algeria and Mauritania as Arabs in authoritarian states watched with astonishment the speed at which a public uprising in Tunisia toppled its ruler last week. Some have responded by calling for change at home.

In Egypt, Tuesday's acts followed an initial incident a day earlier when a man set himself alight outside parliament in a sign of growing public discontent in the tightly run country.

"This is a symptom of rising anger and frustration over socio-economic injustice, but I don't think it indicates that a Tunisian-style revolution is necessarily in the making," said Hossam Bahgat, a human rights activist.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70H3L720110118