Al Jazeera says Cairo office destroyed by “thugs”

DUBAI, (Reuters) – The Qatar-based satellite channel  Al Jazeera said today that its office in Egypt’s capital  Cairo had been burnt and destroyed by “gangs of thugs”.
The news channel, which was ordered earlier this week to  stop its operations in Egypt, accused the Egyptian authorities  or its supporters of trying to thwart its coverage of political  unrest in the North African country.
“The Al Jazeera Network have reported that their office in  Cairo has been stormed by gangs of thugs. The office has been  burned along with the equipment inside it,” it said in a  statement.
“It appears to be the latest attempt by the Egyptian regime  or its supporters to hinder Al Jazeera’s coverage of events in  the country.”
The network said it would continue to report from Egypt.
Last Sunday, the Egyptian Information Ministry ordered Al  Jazeera to shut down its operations in the country, and withdrew  accreditation to its staff, according to the network.
On Thursday, the news channel said three of its journalists  were released after being detained by Egyptian authorities while  covering that country’s massive street protests.    Tens of  thousands of people have taken to the streets for the past days  in Egypt demanding an end to President Hosni Mubarak’s  authoritarian 30-year rule, in protests that have sent shock  waves through the Arab world.
Al Jazeera’s coverage of political unrest in Egypt has been  widely watched throughout the Middle East, and criticised by  Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s supporters.
Launched in Qatar in 1996, Al Jazeera has more than 400  reporters in over 60 countries, according to its website.
On Thursday, the United States and Britain condemned the  intimidation of various foreign reporters covering protests  against Mubarak and said the Egyptian government must not target  journalists.