Supporters of Egypt’s ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, staged fresh protests on Friday to call for his reinstatement, one week ahead of the anniversary of his ouster in a military coup.
The rallies came in response to calls by the National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, Morsi’s main support bloc, for a week of protests in the runup to the overthrow of Morsi in July 2013, World Bulletin reported.
Scores of protesters marched in several provinces, including Cairo, Alexandria and Gharbiya in the Nile Delta. Protesters chanted slogans against the army and police, and called for the release of detainees held by authorities in the past two years since Morsi’s overthrow.
Egypt has been dogged by turmoil since then military chief turned-President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi unseated Morsi, the country’s first freely-elected president, in a 2013 coup following protests against his administration.
Since Morsi’s ouster, Egyptian authorities have carried out massive crackdown on dissents, leaving hundreds dead and thousands in prison.
Sisi Troops in Sinai
The Egyptian president made an unannounced visit to the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday to rally troops following a wave of deadly militant attacks on security forces, his office said.
“President … is inspecting troops and police in the North Sinai,” his office said, without specifying where in the restive province.
Sisi’s government called in airstrikes on Wednesday after deadly attacks by IS insurgents in the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid left dozens dead.
The army said 17 soldiers and 100 militants had been killed. But medical and security officials said the death toll was at least 70 people, mostly soldiers, as well as dozens of militants.
Also on Saturday, a shell slammed into a house in Sheikh Zuweid, killing a woman and two children, medical and security sources said. It was unclear which side fired the shell.
