The neighbors watched helplessly from behind locked gates as an exchange of gunfire rang out at the police station. Then about 80 prisoners burst through the station\u2019s doors \u201d\u201d some clad only in underwear, many brandishing guns, machetes, even a fire extinguisher \u201d\u201d as the police fled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe police are afraid,\u201d\u009d said Mohamed Ismail, 30, a witness. \u201cI am afraid to leave my neighborhood.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
Three months after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, a crime wave in Egypt has emerged as a threat to its promised transition to democracy. Businessmen, politicians and human rights activists say they fear that the mounting disorder \u201d\u201d from sectarian strife to soccer riots \u201d\u201d is hampering a desperately needed economic recovery or, worse, inviting a new authoritarian crackdown.<\/p>\n