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Anti-government demos going on in several Egyptian cities

Iran Press TV

Fri Aug 23, 2013 2:37PM GMT

Demonstrations are under way in several cities across Egypt, in opposition to the military-backed interim government.

In the capital Cairo, hundreds of supporters of ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, have taken to the streets, calling for the reinstatement of Egypt’s first democratically elected president and the release of Muslim Brotherhood leaders.

Supporters of Morsi had earlier invited the Egyptians to hold "Friday of Martyrs" demonstrations across the country to protest against the president’s ouster.

Other Egyptians also joined the pro-Morsi demonstrators in voicing their outrage at the release of the North African country’s former dictator Hosni Mubarak.

In Giza governorate, located in the west bank of the Nile and about 20 kilometers southwest of central Cairo, protesters chanted slogans against the army.

“I will keep protesting until our legitimate president comes back. Even if this means that we have to die for our cause. And he will come back and resume the Islamic project. We are not afraid of death or thugs or the police or the army,” said a protester during the rally.

Referring to 2011 revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak, another protester said, “I'm participating now to revive the January 25 (2011) revolution. The Mubarak era is back, worse and stronger.”

Following more than two years in detention, an Egyptian court ordered Mubarak’s conditional release on August 21 after being cleared in a corruption case. He was flown out of Cairo’s Tora Prison by a military helicopter to a military hospital in the capital a day later.

Meanwhile, in the northern city of al-Mansoura, heavy clashes erupted after supporters of Morsi held similar demonstrations.

Moreover, in Egypt’s Nile Delta city of Tanta, several people were injured during clashes between supporters and opponents of Morsi in the city.

Egypt has been rocked by a fresh wave of political chaos after the military overthrew Morsi on July 3.

Egyptian security guards have arrested hundreds of Morsi's supporters including top leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in recent days as the military-backed government has tried to end weeks of protests and to stamp its authority on the deeply polarized North African nation.

Almost 900 people, including nearly 100 soldiers and police, have died in the country since August 14, when security forces of the interim government launched a brutal crackdown on thousands of pro-Morsi protesters in Cairo.

MAM/SS