Activists marching to Gaza say were stopped in Libya, Egypt
CAIRO: Pro-Palestinian activists seeking to march to Gaza with the stated aim of breaking Israel's blockade on the territory were stopped Friday in both Libya and Egypt, organisers said.
"Forty participants of the Global March to Gaza have had their passports taken at a checkpoint on the way out of Cairo," organisers said in a statement.
"They are being held in the heat and not allowed to move," the statement said, adding that another "15 are being held at hotels".
The activists are from France, Spain, Canada, Turkey and the United Kingdom, it said.
"We are a peaceful movement and we are complying with Egyptian law."
The group urged embassies to help secure their release so they could complete their voyage.
It later sent video footage to AFP showing Egyptian security forces intervening to break up impromptu sit-ins.
Women were "molested and carried like cattle onto the bus", according to a message from Florence Heskia, one of the protesters stuck on the road.
Nadia, another activist, told AFP "they confiscated our passports and are pressuring us to board a bus to take us to the airport where we will be deported".
The Global March to Gaza had earlier said around 4,000 participants from more than 40 countries would gather in Cairo on Friday to head to the war-devastated Palestinian territory.
According to the plan, participants were set to travel by bus to the city of El-Arish in the heavily securitised Sinai Peninsula before walking 50 kilometres (30 miles) towards the border with Gaza.
They would then camp there before returning to Cairo on June 19.
Tunisia convoy
Separately, the "Soumoud" convoy, meaning "steadfastness" in Arabic, which took off from Tunisia, was also stopped Friday morning at the entrance to the Libyan city of Sirte, controlled by the forces of military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
"The caravan was barred from passing through at the entrance to the city of Sirte," Tunisian organiser Wael Naouar said in a video posted to Facebook on Friday.
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