Egyptians pelt Clinton motorcade with tomatoes, bottles

Protesters in the city of Alexandria in northeastern Egypt have thrown bottles and tomatoes at the motorcade of the visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

On Sunday, a large number of demonstrators gathered outside the US consulate in the city to denounce Washington’s interference in their country’s internal affairs, Reuters reported.

“We are, first of all, opposed to the American visit to Egypt. Why? Because they (Americans) are trying to pressure on the new presidential institution. And we fundamentally cannot accept any interference in Egyptian affairs,” a protester said.

Similar protests were also held outside Clinton’s hotel in Cairo on Saturday night.

The top US diplomat visited the country over Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday, Clinton held a meeting with Egypt’s newly-elected President Mohamed Morsi at the presidential palace in the upscale suburb of Heliopolis in the capital. She met with Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, the head of the military, and urged him to support a transition to civilian rule on Sunday.

Washington, which invariably supported the regime of former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak for over three decades, now claims to be advocating the country’s transition to democracy.