Pro-Morsi protesters march in 'tribute to martyrs'
Posted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 5:31 pm
Islamist protest marches were launched following afternoon prayers in Cairo and other cities on Friday, under the banner of "loyalty to the martyrs' blood."
The demonstrations come in the wake of a call by leading Muslim Brotherhood figure Essam El-Erian for supporters to hit the streets on Friday and Saturday in order to mark the one-month anniversary of the violent dispersal by the police of two pro-Morsi sit-ins on 14 August, which left 600 dead and more than 40 officers killed.
The call was broadcast late on Thursday by Al Jazeera Mubashar Misr, a satellite channel widely seen as favouring the Muslim Brotherhood.
"We need to be loyal to the blood of the martyrs," said El-Erian in the broadcasted message.
El-Erian, who is wanted on multiple charges by the authorities, is one of the few top Brotherhood figures who has not been arrested by security forces since Morsi’s ouster.
"We won't surrender to the blunt force of the security state," he said in the message.
Police and armed forces closed a number of squares and major streets to prevent protesters from getting through or occupying public spaces to stage sit-ins.
In Cairo, the Rabaa Al-Adawiya area in Nasr City district was blocked off, as was Mohandiseen's Gamat Al-Dowal Street and Sphinx Square.
All three locations have seen protests by supporters of Morsi in recent weeks.
Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the 2011 uprising, was also blocked off by security forces, and Cairo International Airport in the Heliopolis district also has an increased security presence, incuding army personnel.
Demonstrators chanted against the armed forces and called for the restoration of "legitimacy." Many of them held aloft pictures showing the yellow four-fingered symbol of the protest camp at Rabaa Al-Adawiya as well as Morsi posters.
"Tribute to martyrs" protests also took place in governorates and cities outside the capital, including Menoufiya and Gharbiya in the Nile Delta, and Assiut in Upper Egypt.
In Alexandria, on the Mediterranean coast, a verbal exchange erupted between protesters and supporters of the current government near Qaed Ibrahim Mosque before protesters retreated from the area, reportedly being chased away. Clashes later erupted on the Corniche sea-front road, and police fired teargas to disperse the protesters.
In the industrial city of Mahalla, Gharbiya, a march in support of Morsi, which began from Abdel-Hai Khalil mosque heading to Shon Square was dispersed by civilians. After the clashes between the two groups, the police fired teargas, according to MENA state news agency.
There were also protests by supporters of the ousted president reported in Qalioubiya in the Nile Delta, in Suez and Port Said on the Suez Canal, and in Al-Arish in northern Sinai.
The total number of pro-Morsi demonstrators at various marches across the country is estimated to be in the thousands.
Several smaller marches in support of the army were also reported in Cairo.
Many clashes have erupted between Islamist protesters and their opponents since the ouster of Morsi on 3 July amid nationwide protests against him.
Hundreds of top and middle level members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been arrested by authorities in recent weeks and charged with inciting violence among other crimes.
Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/81503.aspx
The demonstrations come in the wake of a call by leading Muslim Brotherhood figure Essam El-Erian for supporters to hit the streets on Friday and Saturday in order to mark the one-month anniversary of the violent dispersal by the police of two pro-Morsi sit-ins on 14 August, which left 600 dead and more than 40 officers killed.
The call was broadcast late on Thursday by Al Jazeera Mubashar Misr, a satellite channel widely seen as favouring the Muslim Brotherhood.
"We need to be loyal to the blood of the martyrs," said El-Erian in the broadcasted message.
El-Erian, who is wanted on multiple charges by the authorities, is one of the few top Brotherhood figures who has not been arrested by security forces since Morsi’s ouster.
"We won't surrender to the blunt force of the security state," he said in the message.
Police and armed forces closed a number of squares and major streets to prevent protesters from getting through or occupying public spaces to stage sit-ins.
In Cairo, the Rabaa Al-Adawiya area in Nasr City district was blocked off, as was Mohandiseen's Gamat Al-Dowal Street and Sphinx Square.
All three locations have seen protests by supporters of Morsi in recent weeks.
Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the 2011 uprising, was also blocked off by security forces, and Cairo International Airport in the Heliopolis district also has an increased security presence, incuding army personnel.
Demonstrators chanted against the armed forces and called for the restoration of "legitimacy." Many of them held aloft pictures showing the yellow four-fingered symbol of the protest camp at Rabaa Al-Adawiya as well as Morsi posters.
"Tribute to martyrs" protests also took place in governorates and cities outside the capital, including Menoufiya and Gharbiya in the Nile Delta, and Assiut in Upper Egypt.
In Alexandria, on the Mediterranean coast, a verbal exchange erupted between protesters and supporters of the current government near Qaed Ibrahim Mosque before protesters retreated from the area, reportedly being chased away. Clashes later erupted on the Corniche sea-front road, and police fired teargas to disperse the protesters.
In the industrial city of Mahalla, Gharbiya, a march in support of Morsi, which began from Abdel-Hai Khalil mosque heading to Shon Square was dispersed by civilians. After the clashes between the two groups, the police fired teargas, according to MENA state news agency.
There were also protests by supporters of the ousted president reported in Qalioubiya in the Nile Delta, in Suez and Port Said on the Suez Canal, and in Al-Arish in northern Sinai.
The total number of pro-Morsi demonstrators at various marches across the country is estimated to be in the thousands.
Several smaller marches in support of the army were also reported in Cairo.
Many clashes have erupted between Islamist protesters and their opponents since the ouster of Morsi on 3 July amid nationwide protests against him.
Hundreds of top and middle level members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been arrested by authorities in recent weeks and charged with inciting violence among other crimes.
Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/81503.aspx
