24 die as Islamist protests hit cities across Egypt
At least 24 people
died across Egypt on Friday as Islamists opposed to the overthrow of
President Mohamed Morsi took to the streets to vent their fury at what
they say was a military coup. Fierce clashes in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria left 12 dead
and 200 injured, while in Cairo, five people were killed as pro- and
anti-Morsi protesters ran amok in central areas and armored personnel
carriers rumbled among them to restore calm.
Five police officers were gunned down in separate incidents in the
North Sinai town of El Arish, and while it was not clear whether the
attacks were linked to Morsi’s ouster, hardline Islamists there have
warned they would fight back. Tens of thousands of people marched across the country in what
Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement called a “Friday of Rage” to
demonstrate against his overthrow and the army-backed interim government
being set up to prepare for new elections.
A new prime minister could be named as early as Saturday. Egypt’s first freely elected president was toppled on Wednesday, the
latest twist in a tumultuous two years since the fall of Hosni Mubarak
in the Arab Spring uprisings that swept the region in 2011. The events of the last week have aroused concern among Egypt’s allies
in the West, including key donors the United States and the European
Union, and in neighboring Israel, with which Egypt has had a US-backed
peace treaty since 1979. Friday’s fatalities added to the dozens of deaths in a month of
unrest. Last Sunday, huge rallies in Cairo and other cities called for
Morsi’s resignation, venting anger over economic stagnation and
perceptions of a Brotherhood power grab.
His overthrow was greeted with wild scenes of celebration but
infuriated supporters who fear a return to the suppression of Islamists
they endured under generations of military rule.
It has deepened Egypt’s crisis. With its supporters enraged by
Morsi’s removal from power, the Brotherhood says it wants nothing to do
with what the army has billed as an inclusive transition plan,
culminating in fresh elections. The military has given scarce details – its road map gave no
timeframe for a new ballot – adding to political uncertainty at a time
when many Egyptians fear violence could polarize society even further. Leftist former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi told Reuters he
hoped the transition could last only six months. And, in common with
allies on the liberal left, he insisted there had been no military coup.
He called the idea an insult to Egypt.
RISING TENSIONS
In an early incident that raised tensions in Cairo, three protesters
were shot dead outside the Republican Guard barracks where deposed Morsi
is being held, security sources said. The army denied blame for the shootings. An army spokesman said
troops did not open fire on the demonstrators and soldiers used blank
rounds and teargas to control the crowd. It was unclear whether security forces units other than army troops were also present. Later, tens of thousands of cheering Islamists gathered near a mosque
in a Cairo suburb where they were addressed by Brotherhood leader
Mohamed Badie, free to address them despite reports on Thursday that he
had been arrested.
Badie, like some other leaders, pledge that it was worth “our lives”
to restore Morsi to the presidency. But Brotherhood officials have also
insisted they will not resort to violence. After dark, running battles broke out in the area between Tahrir
Square and the state broadcasting headquarters. Reuters journalists saw
hundreds of youths from either side skirmish around the highway ramps of
a major bridge over the Nile. There was some shotgun fire, rocks flew and fireworks shot between
rival groups. A car was burned out. Protesters erected makeshift shields
for protection. The Brotherhood said 18 of its supporters were wounded
after they were attacked by “thugs”. Reuters journalists saw several men with shotgun wounds.
The army, which had pledged to protect demonstrators and keep rival
factions apart, had troops in the area but violence only ended after
some three hours when half a dozen armored personnel carriers arrived
and took up position on the bridge. Islamists also took to the streets in cities across the country,
including Assiut, Damanhour, Ismailia, and in the Nile Delta towns of
Gharbeya and Beheira. In the Sinai peninsula bordering Israel, where Egypt has struggled to
control security since Mubarak was toppled, five police officers were
gunned down in separate attacks in the town of El Arish, medical sources
said. Hardline Islamist groups have exploited a collapse in state authority
after the uprising to launch attacks into Israel and on Egyptian
targets.
The violence will ring alarm bells in the United States. Washington
has so far avoided referring to the army’s removal of Morsi as a “coup”,
a word that under U.S. law would require a halt to its $1.5 billion in
annual aid.
Morsi’s opponents also say it was not a coup but an intervention to impose the “people’s will”.
The Brotherhood’s key political strategist, Khairat El-Shater, became
the latest senior figure to be arrested since Morsi’s removal. A legal technicality forced Shater’s withdrawal from the presidential
campaign last year, promoting Morsi into being the movement’s
candidate. Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad said the movement was faced
with a crackdown from a state establishment unreformed from the days of
Mubarak: “It’s the old police state of Mubarak with every ingredient and
nightmare that it had before the January 25 revolution. It’s as if we
hit the reset button.” But many Egyptians saw the military as a guarantor of stability at a
dangerous time for the largest Arab nation of 84 million people. “Maybe they will need to issue a curfew. Maybe the trouble will last a
few days,” said Said Asr, 41, sitting with friends outside a Cairo cafe
smoking a cigarette. “But the army is everything in this country. And
they are taking control.”
Date: 06-07-2013
Source: The Daily Star
