CAIRO: Millions of Egyptians flooded into the streets on the first anniversary of President Mohamed Morsi's inauguration on Sunday to demand that he resign in the biggest challenge so far to rule by his Muslim Brotherhood.
Waving national flags and chanting "Get out!", a crowd of nearly 500,000 massed on Cairo's central Tahrir Square. It was the largest demonstration since the 2011 uprising that overthrew Morsi's predecessor, Hosni Mubarak.
"The people want the fall of the regime!" they shouted, echoing the Arab Spring rallying cry that brought down Mubarak - this time yelling it not against an ageing dictator but against the first elected leader in Egypt's 5,000-year recorded history.
While the main protests were peaceful, four people were shot dead in the Nile valley towns of Assiut and Beni Suef, south of Cairo, and the Health Ministry said nearly 200 were injured in clashes in several provincial towns.
A military source said as many as 14 million people in this nation of 84 million took part in Sunday's demonstrations in temperatures of 38 Celsius (100 Fahrenheit). There was no independent way of verifying that estimate, which seemed implausibly high, but the armed forces used helicopters to monitor the crowds.
The Brotherhood's national headquarters in a Cairo suburb came under attack from militants hurling petrol bombs and rocks and firing shotguns. Flames gushed from an upper floor of the building, which did not have police protection.
The liberal opposition National Salvation Front coalition declared victory in what it styled "Revolutionary Communique No. 1" saying the masses had "confirmed the downfall of the regime of Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood".
Organisers called on demonstrators to continue to occupy central squares in every city until Morsi quits and to blockade peacefully the only functioning house of parliament. The Tahrir crowd roared with approval as an army helicopter hovering overhead dropped Egyptian flags on the protesters.
The military source said the move was intended to encourage patriotism and was not a gesture of political support.
Comments
Comments are closed.