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Deadly Clashes in Egypt on Anniversary of Uprising

by VOA News January 25, 2014

Deadly violence has marred Egyptian ceremonies marking the third anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

Government officials say at least 29 people were killed Saturday in anti-government protests, which took place as thousands of people flooded Cairo's Tahrir Square for government sanctioned celebrations to show of support for the current military-installed government. Some waved flags and posters as they pledged support for Defense Minister and de-facto leader General Abdel Fatah el-Sissi, whom supporters have urged to run for president.

But medics say scores were wounded, some of them critically, and many protesters have been arrested.

Police have also reportedly fired tear gas to disperse anti-government demonstrators, and video has shown government supporters in Cairo hurling rocks at opponents, who include backers of former Islamist president Morsi, as well as those opposed to the current government.

In other parts of Cairo and in other cities, however, police fired tear gas and gunshots into the air to disperse protesters at anti-government demonstrations.

As Saturday's ceremony got under way, a car bomb exploded near a security facility in the city of Suez. Earlier, a bomb exploded near a Cairo police academy. The blasts come a day after at least 20 people and six policemen were killed in a series of explosions that rocked Cairo.

Asar Beit al-Maqdis, or Partisans for Jerusalem, an al-Qaida-inspired group in Egypt that derides the Brotherhood for lack of militancy, released a statement Saturday claiming responsibility. The statement also warned Muslims to stay away from police stations. The group has also claimed responsibility for a September 2013 bombing in Mansoura and other attacks, saying they were carried out to avenge the military-backed government's crackdown on Islamists.

Egypt has been mired in political turmoil since July 3, when army General Abdel Fattah al-Sissi ousted President Mohamed Morsi, the country's first democratically elected civilian president.

Last year, the military-backed government of secularists and liberals that replaced Morsi also designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group following a bombing of security offices that killed 15 people.

More than 1,000 of Morsi supporters have been killed in a security crackdown following his removal from power. The security crackdown has been extended to secular-minded liberals, including ones who played a key role in the 2011 uprising. Human rights groups have accused the Egyptian authorities of quashing dissent and using excessive force, calling state violence since Morsi's ouster unprecedented.

Egypt's most prominent rights groups criticized the government for using the 'purported aim of 'countering terrorism' as justification to commit arbitrary arrests and restrict freedoms.'

Although the Brotherhood has been nearly crushed by the state, the group has a history of rebounding.

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'Their soft, non-ideological support from Egyptian society has collapsed but their most energized core remains more zealous than ever,' said Michael Hanna of the Century Foundation in New York.

'The Brotherhood and its supporters are not something that can be swept aside easily they have a substantial and resilient core.'

Morsi came to power as Egypt's first democratically elected president after Hosni Mubarak stepped down under pressure nearly three years ago.

Some information for this report comes from Reuters and AP.