Egyptian sets fire to himself protesting against Sisi

A man set himself on fire in Alexandria, Egypt, yesterday in an apparent protest against government policy.

Twitter users published videos of the incident where the man can be heard shouting then dousing himself with petrol and setting himself alight. Men can be seen running to him to put out the flames.

His fate remains unknown.

“The man set himself on fire because he couldn’t afford to eat and yet everyone is watching and #Sisi is still in power,” Abdullah Al-Jazar wrote on Twitter.

الراجل ولّع في نفسه عشان مش لاقي ياكل والكل بيتفرج
ولسه #السيسي في الحكم
ملعونه دي دولة .. #مواطن_يشعل_النار_في_نفسه#بوعزيزي_مصر pic.twitter.com/BhpVzWsIAn

— Aljzzar – عبدالله الجزار (@AbdullahEljzzar) October 15, 2016

The hashtag #Bouazizi_Egypt was used, both in Arabic and English, to spread the news, in reference to the actions of 26-year-old Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi whose self-immolation sparked a wave of protest in the country that brought down the government.

Egyptians have been reeling as the price of basic commodities has increased sharply since President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi took power in a military coup in 2013.

The government has since stopped subsidising essential products, petrol prices have increased and there has been a crackdown on protests against these measures leaving locals feeling helpless.

An Egyptian man set himself on fire in front of an army centre in #Alexandria. Social media users called him "#Egypt's Boazizi' #بوعزيزي_مصر

— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) October 15, 2016