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NEW DELHI: The government on Sunday brought back 300 Indian nationals by a special Air India flight from Cairo as more than 150 Egyptians died in street protests and widespread looting erupted in the capital city. With more than 3,600 people of Indian origin living in Egypt, the foreign ministry hoped for a peaceful resolution to the protests.

The special flight was arranged by the government at the request of Indian nationals who wanted to return home. Another special flight is likely to take off from Mumbai soon and the government has not ruled out more such flights in the next few days. The flight on Sunday, which left for Cairo around 5pm and is set to arrive early Monday, is bringing back mostly women and children. About 2,200 of the Indians living in Egypt are based in Cairo.

"We are closely following with concern, the developments in Egypt. India has traditionally enjoyed close and friendly relations with Egypt. We hope for an early and peaceful resolution of the situation without further violence and loss of lives," joint secretary and spokesperson Vishnu Prakash said.

Flight schedules in and out of Egypt have been disrupted in the past few days after anti-government protests broke out there seeking the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, who has been in power for more than three decades. Nearly 150 people have been killed and hundreds injured in the clashes. Around 1,000 people have been arrested across the country since the protests broke out five days ago against the Mubarak government.

Qatar-based Al-Jazeera channel, which was banned by Egypt on Sunday, put the death toll at 150 and said 4,000 people had been injured since the unprecedented mass protests against Mubarak’s autocratic regime began on Tuesday. Some other reports said more than 100 had been killed. Mobs stormed into upmarket malls, bank, jewellery and electronic stores beside government buildings and looted television sets, furniture, electronic items and gold ornaments, defying curfew in the capital. Looting and arson continued through the night as security personnel disappeared from the trouble spots.

On Saturday, the external affairs ministry issued an advisory, asking Indians to avoid all non-essential travel to Egypt. It also said that Indians living there were safe and the embassy in Cairo was in touch with them. Officials said most of the Indians were People of Indian Origin (PIO) who had settled in Egypt. The Indian embassy has set up a round-the-clock control room to assist them.