Egypt Army Backers, Opponents Mark Clashes Anniversary
Dozens of supporters and opponents of the army gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square Tuesday to mark the anniversary of anti-military protests, amid mounting anger over a memorial to those killed in Egypt's uprising.
The 2011 demonstrations in central Cairo were against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the military junta that took power after the fall of Mubarak.
The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which has held regular protests against the military for ousting President Mohammed Morsi, has not called for any demonstrations on Tuesday.
At least 43 people were killed and more than 3,000 wounded in days of clashes between protesters and security forces that began on November 19, 2011, just nine months after Mubarak's ouster.
Hundreds of Egyptians had gathered on Monday evening in Tahrir Square, where the government has built a monument to commemorate those killed in Egypt's "revolution" since the outbreak of protests against Mubarak.
Its decision to inaugurate the monument on Monday, the eve of the anniversary of the 2011 clashes, has angered activists.
By Tuesday morning the monument had been badly damaged after protesters chanting anti-military slogans sprayed the memorial with red paint the previous evening.
"For us, the revolution is still unfinished," protester Hussein Safed told AFP, adding he had participated in protests against the army at the square two years ago.
Graffiti on the monument read: "Down with the betrayers: the military, the remnants (of the Mubarak regime)," the Brotherhood, and "this is not a memorial, it's a public scam."
The SCAF had handed over power in 2012 to Morsi, a veteran Muslim Brotherhood leader who won Egypt's first democratic presidential election.
But just one year later the army overthrew him following mass demonstrations against his turbulent rule and installed an interim government that currently rules the country.
This was followed by a brutal security forces crackdown on Morsi's Islamist supporters that peaked on August 14, when police dispersed two pro-Morsi protest camps, killing hundreds.
The interim government has pledged a return to civilian, democratic rule, but real power is believed to lie with military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose popularity has soared since Morsi's overthrow.
The interior ministry has warned of a firm response to any violence on Tuesday.
Authorities reinforced security at key government installations around Tahrir square like the ministry of interior, government administrative buildings and parliament.
Meanwhile, the Tamarod (rebellion) movement which mobilized protesters against Morsi called its supporters to keep off the streets on Tuesday to avoid any violence.
Source: Agence France Presse
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