India condemns attack on journalists in Egypt

India has called attack on journalists covering the Egypt crisis as unacceptable and shocking.

Amid attacks on mediapersons in Egypt, including journalists from India, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said in a statement: ?I am pained and shocked to learn about the detention and attacks on journalists in Egypt, who were reporting on the unfolding developments.”

“Such incidents are totally unacceptable and must stop immediately. The journalists must be released unharmed forthwith and the government must ensure their safety and security.”

“Violence has no place in any civil society and must be strongly condemned by all right thinking persons,? he said.

Authorities in Egypt on Thursday cracked down on international reporters, confiscating cameras and equipment in a move that has triggered angry reactions from across the world even as the upheaval in the Arab nation shows no sign of fizzling out.

Several journalists have been attacked and detained along with human rights activists, the Western media reported. Some of reporters have been told that they were being taken under ?protective custody?.

The NDTV crew from India was also attacked.

Their correspondents Maya Mirchandani and Burkha Dutt were among those attacked.

Barkha Dutt tweeted from Cairo saying :”live pictures now banned from egypt [sic] , as the crackdown continues in cairo [sic]; the regime now hoping all will unfold away from the global cameras.”

“Young men came charging us,” she tweeted.

She said they were attacked, their cameras smashed and tapes ripped out and later they were herded into the safety of Indian Embassy.

The foreign press has been asked to vacate hotels around the Tahrir Square, the centre of unrest in the Egyptian capital, even as some reports say authorities are barring them from leaving from airports with media equipment across the country.

The U.S. has strongly condemned the clampdown. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley tweeted, “There is a concerted campaign to intimidate international journalists in Cairo and interfere with their reporting. We condemn such actions.?

The crackdown on journalists started simultaneously along with what seemed like a planned offensive by supporters of President Hosni Mubarak on the anti-government protesters in the Tahrir Square.

Pro-Mubarak activists reportedly took on the protesters with rocks, bats, and knives and Molotov cocktails. Foreign press photographers are also said to be facing violent opposition from Mubarak supporters.