Deadly clashes hit Egypt on 1973 war anniversary
The violence came as supporters of Egypt\’s military marked a national holiday for the 40th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
At least 38 people were killed nationwide Sunday as clashes erupted between security forces and protesters on a major holiday.
Egypt\’s Health Ministry confirmed the number of fatalities and also said that 209 people had been injured in the clashes.
The Interior Ministry announced as night fell that 300 anti-military rule protesters were arrested thoughout the day.
Police fired tear gas and shots into the air to disperse anti-coup crowds who were trying to make their way to Tahrir Square, where thousands of pro-military Egyptians were gathered to mark the anniversary of the assault on Israeli forces in the Sinai Peninsula during the 1973 war.
In Delga, south of Cairo, medical sources told Reuters news agency that police shot live rounds into a crowd of stone-throwing portesters, killing one man.
The military-backed government had hoped to highlight popular support during the holiday for de facto leader General Abdel Fatah el-Sissi. But the Muslim Brotherhood organized its own marches under the banner "Reject the Coup."
Sunday\’s protests appeared to be the biggest turnout since the mid-August crackdown on supporters of Morsi. In the ensuing months, the protest movement has changed focus from a drive to reinstate the Islamist president to a wider anti-military stance.
Authorities have cracked down hard on the Brotherhood, which won every election after Mubarak\’s fall but became unpopular during Mursi\’s rule, with many Egyptians accusing him of trying to acquire sweeping powers and mismanaging the economy. He denies the allegations.
The Brotherhood accuses the army of staging a coup and sabotaging democracy by ousting Mursi, the first freely-elected president in Egypt, a key U.S. ally which has a peace treaty with Israel and controls the Suez Canal, a vital global trade route.
The military says it was acting in line with the will of the people after mass protests against Mursi\’s rule.
On August 14, Egypt\’s military-backed authorities smashed two pro-Mursi sit-ins in Cairo, with hundreds of deaths, and then declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew. Many of the Brotherhood\’s leaders have been arrested since.
Egyptian authorities have tightened security around the country since clashes killed at least four people on Friday, when Mursi\’s supporters mounted their boldest demonstrations since troops crushed their protest camps.
Source: Agencies
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