Cairo: A man set himself on fire outside parliament in Cairo on Monday, a parliament source said, in an apparent copycat replay of the self-immolation of a Tunisian graduate which sparked a popular revolt.
The man "stood outside the People's Assembly, poured fuel on himself and set himself on fire," the source said on condition of anonymity.
"A policeman who was close by managed to extinguish the fire and the man was quickly taken away by ambulance," the source added.
The man has not been identified and his condition was not immediately known.
The incident comes after 26-year-old Tunisian graduate Mohammad Bouazizi torched himself in Tunisia when police prevented him from selling fruit and vegetables to make a living.
The case of Bouazizi, who later died of his wounds, unleashed a wave of protests in Tunisia that would eventually toppled the 23-year-old regime of the president.
