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In a repetition of what we saw in 2003 in Iraq, groups of men, armed with automatic weapons, have descended on the Garza archeological site in Fayoum, forcing those guarding the sites to leave the area so that they could dig and search for saleable artefacts. The watchmen are armed only with 9mm pistols which are no match for the automatic weapons used by the armed groups. The number of watchmen posted and their inadequate weapons made it difficult to protect such archeological sites. There are ten guards who work in shifts to protect the 600 acre site. The armed groups had exploited the security vacuum created by current political instability and attacked the area several times, digging for artefacts all night long and leaving behind dozens of deep holes.
Mohamed Farghaly, 'Armed men dig for artifacts at archeological site in Fayoum', almasryalyoum, 29/03/2011)
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