CAIRO: At least 30 people were killed in Egypt in street violence Saturday, as hard-liners and military supporters staged rival rallies on the anniversary of the 2011 uprising, the Health Ministry said.
Security forces lobbed teargas and some fired automatic weapons in the air to try to prevent demonstrators opposed to the government reaching Tahrir Square, the symbolic heart of the 2011 uprising that toppled the former air force commander.
As police tried to calm Cairo’s politically-charged streets, a car bomb exploded near a police camp in the Egyptian city of Suez, security sources said.
The blast, which was followed by a fierce exchange of gunfire, suggested the authorities could be locked in a long-term battle with insurgents who are gaining momentum.
But the growing violence has not dented the popularity of General Abdel Fattah El-Sissi, whose ouster of Muhammad Mursi, Egypt’s first freely-elected president, plunged the country into turmoil. Instead of commemorating Mubarak’s overthrow, tens of thousand of Egyptians gathered in Tahrir to pledge their support for Sissi in an event stage-managed by the state.
An army marching band played, while vendors sold T-shirts with the general’s image for five Egyptian pounds ($0.72).
Huge banners and posters displayed Sissi in his trademark dark sunglasses at Saturday’s rally. Some women kissed posters.
But an end to street violence seemed nowhere in sight. Not far from Tahrir, police in black uniforms clutching assault rifles fired tear gas canisters in a clampdown on anti-government protesters lasting for about two hours.
Nine protesters were killed in different parts of the capital, where armored personnel carriers were deployed to try and keep order, and anyone entering Tahrir had to pass through metal detectors.
In the southern town of Minya, two people were killed in clashes between Mursi supporters and security forces, said Brig. Gen. Hisham Nasr, director of criminal investigations in the regional police department. A woman was killed in Egypt’s second city of Alexandria during clashes between supporters of Mursi and security forces. Most of those killed were shot, security sources said.
Meanwhile, kidnappers seized Egypt’s cultural attache and three other embassy staff in the Libyan capital on Saturday a day after a group snatched another Egyptian official in the city.
The four diplomats were kidnapped early on Saturday morning, a Libyan Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
“The cultural attache and three other staff were kidnapped in Tripoli,” Said Lassoued told AFP.
The abductions came a day after an unknown group seized an administrative adviser at Egypt’s Embassy, and despite Libya’s announcement of “reinforced security measures” there.
A Libyan security official would not rule out that Friday’s kidnapping of the Egyptian was a response to the arrest in Egypt on Friday of Shaaban Hadeia, a prominent former rebel commander who fought in the uprising.
Egypt withdrew its embassy personnel from Tripoli Saturday.
Egypt bleeds on uprising anniversary
Egypt bleeds on uprising anniversary
