Egyptians hold nationwide protests against military rule

Egyptian people have held fresh anti-government protest rallies across the country, calling for the reinstatement of former president, Mohammed Morsi, who was ousted by the military in 2013, Press TV reports.

On Friday, outraged demonstrators took to the streets and formed human chains in the capital, Cairo, as well as other cities, including Alexandria, Giza, the Nile Delta provinces of Sharqiya, Dakahlia, Beheira and Kafr el-Sheikh as well as the Upper Egypt provinces of Fayoum, Bani-Suef and Minya.

The protests were called by Egypt’s Anti-Coup Alliance, which is led by Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement.

The alliance has called for a week of protests against the military-backed government in Cairo under the slogan “Our steadfastness is the path to victory.”

The protesters denounced Cairo’s ongoing crackdown on dissidents and what they called the devastating military operations in the restive Sinai Peninsula, the government’s corrupt economic policies and the deteriorating living conditions in the North African state.

Nour al-Din Kamal, an activist, told Press TV, that he believes the regime in Cairo is “the most repressive” the country has witnessed in more than six decades and even “worse” than that of ousted longtime dictator, Hosni Mubarak.

Also in interview with Press TV, Ayman al-Kady, an engineer, said, “Sinai is being lost in the midst of the suffering of its forcefully deported families, who are caught in the middle between the army and terrorist groups, and so is unity amongst Egyptians.”

Many protesters also expressed regret over what they call a diminishing Egyptian role in the region due to its financial dependence on oil-rich Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia.

“It is only a matter of time before the middle class in Egypt disappears due to the government's policies which only favor the rich,” said Abdel-Rahman Mahmoud, a protester.

Meanwhile, some of the gatherings in different cities turned violent as security guards tried to disperse the demonstrators.

In the city of Alexandria, security guards stormed a mosque in the Raml neighborhood, arresting at least a dozen people who were to join a protest rally following the Friday Prayers.

Riot police also attacked the demonstrators in Alexandria’s el-Safira neighborhood, firing bird shots and tear gas. A number of people were wounded and some others arrested in the incident.

Meanwhile, four people were detained in the volatile neighborhood of Matariya in Cairo after police tried to break up a protest rally.

Security forces also dispersed a peaceful protest in the Nasser neighborhood of Bani-Suef, south of Cairo, taking several participants into custody.

Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically-elected president, was ousted in July 2013 in a military coup led by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the country’s current president and then army commander.

Since then, Egypt has been the scene of massive anti-government protests, with continuous clashes between security forces and the supporters of the ousted leader.

The new rulers in Egypt have come under pressure from human rights groups over their harsh crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood members and supporters. The movement has been also blacklisted as a terrorist organization by the military-backed government in Cairo.

Rights groups say the army’s crackdown on pro-Morsi demonstrations has led to the death of over 1,400 people and the arrest of 22,000 others, including some 200 people who have been sentenced to death in mass trials.

Morsi and his aides are currently on trial in several cases and could face the death penalty if convicted.

MKA/SS

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