A man was injured in Smala village, Alam al-Roum, on Wednesday as residents tried to stop the forced demolition of a house. The operation involved a construction team escorted by police, just days after Egypt announced a multi-billion-dollar development deal with Qatar. A local source said security forces ordered residents to delete photos and videos from their phones.
On Wednesday, residents in Smala village, Alam al-Roum, in Marsa Matrouh confronted a construction team backed by police attempting to demolish a nearly completed house. An anonymous local source told Mada Masr the home was being built to host the owner's son's wedding, funded by recent olive harvest proceeds, with the final concrete layer poured just days earlier. The injured man was rushed to a Marsa Matrouh hospital, and a short social media video, verified by the source, shows him on the ground near police and a bulldozer; security reportedly ordered residents to delete all images and footage from their phones.
Smala lies in Alam al-Roum, an area designated for development in the coming years by Qatari Diyar, the real estate arm of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, under a multi-billion-dollar deal announced by Egypt's government last week. A police officer informed the gathered residents that all new construction is currently banned, per the source, who noted no prior demolitions in the area. The government has frozen legal changes to land status in several northwestern coastal zones.
While the state negotiates compensation for residents to vacate, the witness speculated the demolition aimed to prevent builds that might inflate payout values. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbuly confirmed at Thursday's signing in Egypt's New Capital that Qatar will soon transfer $3.5 billion for development rights over a seven-kilometer coastal stretch in Alam al-Roum. Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk told Reuters the funds constitute foreign direct investment, alongside Egypt's in-kind share of about 397,000 square meters of residential units valued at $1.8 billion.
The source said: "The man was building to marry off his son after collecting the proceeds from the olive harvest. What are we supposed to do now? Where will we marry off our children?"