Violence in Egypt

In Egypt, on the third anniversary of the Jan. 25, 2011, start of the uprising that forced the previous president, Hosni Mubarak, from office, thousands gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to support the current military-led government and cheer the announcement of General Sisi’s bid for the presidency. 

However, at demonstrations being held elsewhere in Cairo and Alexandria, 29 protesters were killed by security forces. The antigovernment protesters comprise those who want civilian control, objecting to the interim government propped up by the military, and those who support the more religious-based government of now-deposed Mohamed Morsi, who was voted in after Mubarak.

On Jan. 24, Islamist militants protesting the current government’s suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood detonated bombs in four locations around Cairo, killing six people and injuring more than 100. Since July 2013, when President Morsi was deposed by the army and the Muslim Brotherhood removed from government control, 1,000 Muslim Brotherhood supporters have been killed by security forces.