Egypt stumbled deeper into turmoil after a national holiday celebrating the military turned to mayhem, leaving 51 dead across the country and exposing the deep divisions plaguing the nation.
The high death toll in Sunday’s clashes between security forces and Islamist protesters came as crowds from Egypt’s two rival camps, supporters of the ousted Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, and backers of the military that deposed him, poured into the streets and turned on each other.
Several neighborhoods of the capital Cairo resembled combat zones after street battles that raged for hours. Morsi’s supporters fired birdshot and threw firebombs at police who responded with gunshots and tear gas. Streets were left strewn with debris, and the air was thick with tear gas and smoke from burning fires, as the crack of gunfire rang out. An AP photographer saw nine bodies lying on the floor of a clinic in the Cairo district of Dokki, scene of some of the heaviest clashes. Most of the bodies had gunshot wounds to the head or chest.
It was the highest death toll in a single day in violence in Egypt since 14 August, when security forces raided two sit-in protest camps by Morsi’s supporters in Cairo, killing hundreds. Even as fighting continued in the streets, the military went ahead with lavish celebrations for the holiday marking the 40th anniversary of the start of the 1973 Mideast war with Israel. On Sunday evening, a concert was aired live on state TV from a military-run Cairo stadium where pop stars from Egypt, Lebanon and the Gulf sang anthems to the army and dancers twirled on stage before a cheering crowd. Military chief General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, other top officials and interim president Adly Mansour attended the concert.
‘There are those who think the military can be broken. You see the Pyramids? The military is like the pyramids, because the Egyptian people are on its side,’ el-Sissi said in an address at the concert.
The street battles were the latest chapter in the turmoil roiling Egypt since the ouster in February 2011 of autocrat Hosni Mubarak. The new violence is certain to set back efforts by the interim, military-backed government to revive the economy, especially the vital tourism sector, and bring order to the streets of Cairo, where crime and lawlessness have been rife.
Morsi was Egypt’s first civilian and first freely elected president, succeeding four since the early 1950s who hailed from a military background. But after a year in office, Morsi faced massive protests, demanding his ouster, accusing his Muslim Brotherhood of taking over power, and on 3 July, el-Sissi removed him. The military is now back as the real source of power in Egypt, and state and independent media have been depicting it as Egypt’s saviour, with growing calls for el-Sissi to run in the presidential election due early next year.
The high death toll in Sunday’s clashes between security forces and Islamist protesters came as crowds from Egypt’s two rival camps, supporters of the ousted Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, and backers of the military that deposed him, poured into the streets and turned on each other.
Several neighborhoods of the capital Cairo resembled combat zones after street battles that raged for hours. Morsi’s supporters fired birdshot and threw firebombs at police who responded with gunshots and tear gas. Streets were left strewn with debris, and the air was thick with tear gas and smoke from burning fires, as the crack of gunfire rang out. An AP photographer saw nine bodies lying on the floor of a clinic in the Cairo district of Dokki, scene of some of the heaviest clashes. Most of the bodies had gunshot wounds to the head or chest.
It was the highest death toll in a single day in violence in Egypt since 14 August, when security forces raided two sit-in protest camps by Morsi’s supporters in Cairo, killing hundreds. Even as fighting continued in the streets, the military went ahead with lavish celebrations for the holiday marking the 40th anniversary of the start of the 1973 Mideast war with Israel. On Sunday evening, a concert was aired live on state TV from a military-run Cairo stadium where pop stars from Egypt, Lebanon and the Gulf sang anthems to the army and dancers twirled on stage before a cheering crowd. Military chief General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, other top officials and interim president Adly Mansour attended the concert.
‘There are those who think the military can be broken. You see the Pyramids? The military is like the pyramids, because the Egyptian people are on its side,’ el-Sissi said in an address at the concert.
The street battles were the latest chapter in the turmoil roiling Egypt since the ouster in February 2011 of autocrat Hosni Mubarak. The new violence is certain to set back efforts by the interim, military-backed government to revive the economy, especially the vital tourism sector, and bring order to the streets of Cairo, where crime and lawlessness have been rife.
Morsi was Egypt’s first civilian and first freely elected president, succeeding four since the early 1950s who hailed from a military background. But after a year in office, Morsi faced massive protests, demanding his ouster, accusing his Muslim Brotherhood of taking over power, and on 3 July, el-Sissi removed him. The military is now back as the real source of power in Egypt, and state and independent media have been depicting it as Egypt’s saviour, with growing calls for el-Sissi to run in the presidential election due early next year.