Protests end in violence after Brotherhood leader’s arrest
31 Aug Daily telegraph
Protests by supporters of Egypt’s deposed President Mohamed Morsi
ended in violence last night, after a day of planned demonstrations
failed to draw significant numbers out to the streets. In Cairo and
other cities across Egypt, tens of thousands marched in rejection of a
July 3rd military takeover that pushed the country’s first
democratically elected president from office.
They continue to demand that he is reinstated.Although the scattered
protests remained peaceful throughout much of the afternoon, violent
clashes erupted as evening fell.
Four pro-Morsi demonstrators were killed during rallies in Zagazig
and Port Said. Police also fired tear gas at protesters in Cairo’s
Mohendiseen district, Giza, Tanta and Assuit.The demonstrations followed
the arrest on Thursday of Mohamed el-Beltagy, a senior Muslim
Brotherhood leader, as the campaign to debilitate the group's leadership
widened further. Parts of the capital had been sent into lockdown in
anticipation of the confrontation.
Rolls of gleaming barbed wire were laid around the perimeters of
potential gathering spaces, and heavily armed policemen were stationed
at checkpoints nearby. The diminished turnout from previous weeks
suggested that Mr Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, usually a key rallying
force behind Islamist demonstrations, has been fatigued and
incapacitated by the ongoing crackdown against its leadership and
supporters. As Egypt endures the bloodiest month in its modern history,
over 1000 pro-Morsi demonstrators have been killed in the turmoil that
has followed the president's fall. Mass arrests have decimated the
organisational strength of the Muslim Brotherhood.The organisation's
Supreme Guide, Mohamed Badie, and his deputies Khairat al-Shater and
Rashad Bayoumy have already been put on trial on charges including
incitement to violence in connection with a protest on July 8, in a
prosecution they dismiss as politically motivated.
Speaking to The Telegraph, protesters in Cairo’s Giza district
condemned the crackdown.
“We are people of Egypt who oppose the military coup,” said 32-year
old Ali Hassan. “We all say no to Sisi and the Brotherhoodisation of the
prisons. ”The protests received little attention in Egypt’s state media.
Where coverage did occur, television channels drew attention to empty
streets near sites where protests were reportedly taking place. |
