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Subscribe to RSSThousands of anti-government protesters gathered in Tahrir Square to mark the 2011 uprising that led to Egypt's change in power. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
Five people were shot dead in the Egyptian city of Suez during nationwide protests against President Mohamed Morsi on Friday, the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.
One of the dead was a member of the security forces, medics said. Another 280 civilians and 55 security personnel were injured, officials said, in demonstrations fueled by anger at the president and his Islamist allies in the Muslim Brotherhood.
Thousands of opponents of Morsi massed in Cairo's Tahrir Square - the cradle of the revolt against Mubarak - to rekindle the demands of a revolution they say has been hijacked by Islamists who have betrayed its goals.
Street battles erupted in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Port Said. Arsonists attacked at least two state-owned buildings as symbols of government were targeted. An office used by the Muslim Brotherhood's political party was also torched.
The Jan. 25 anniversary laid bare the divide between the Islamists and their secular rivals.
This schism is hindering the efforts of Morsi, elected in June, to revive an economy in crisis and reverse a plunge in Egypt's currency by enticing back investors and tourists.
Inspired by the popular uprising in Tunisia, Egypt's revolution spurred further revolts across the Arab world. But the sense of common purpose that united Egyptians two years ago has given way to internal strife that had already triggered bloody street battles last month.
"Our revolution is continuing. We reject the domination of any party over this state. We say no to the Brotherhood state," Hamdeen Sabahy, a popular leftist leader, told Reuters.
PhotoBlog: Protesters fill Tahrir Square on anniversary of Egyptian revolution
Ed Giles / Getty Images
An Egyptian protester runs with a live tear gas canister during clashes with riot police around Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday.
The Brotherhood decided against mobilizing for the anniversary, wary of the scope for more conflict after December's violence, stoked by Morsi's decision to fast-track an Islamist-tinged constitution rejected by his opponents.
The Brotherhood denies accusations that it is seeking to dominate Egypt, labeling them a smear campaign by its rivals.
Death in Suez
There were conflicting accounts of the lethal shooting in Suez. Some witnesses said security forces had opened fire in response to gunfire from masked men.
News of the deaths capped a day of violence which started in the early hours. Before dawn in Cairo, police battled protesters who threw petrol bombs and firecrackers as they approached a wall blocking access to government buildings near Tahrir Square.
Clouds of tear gas filled the air. At one point, riot police used one of the incendiaries thrown at them to set ablaze at least two tents erected by youths, a Reuters witness said.
Yuka Tachibana / NBC News
A boy is draped in the Egyptian flag as protesters gather in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Friday. Despite clashes around the square, the atmosphere inside was festive at times.
Skirmishes between stone-throwing youths and the police continued in streets around the square into the day. Ambulances ferried away a steady stream of casualties.
Protesters echoed the chants of 2011's historic 18-day uprising. "The people want to bring down the regime," they chanted. "Leave! Leave! Leave!" chanted others as they marched towards the square.
"We are not here to celebrate but to force those in power to submit to the will of the people. Egypt now must never be like Egypt during Mubarak's rule," said Mohamed Fahmy, an activist.
There were similar scenes in Suez and Alexandria, where protesters and riot police clashed near local government offices. Black smoke billowed from tires set ablaze by youths.
In Cairo, police fired tear gas to disperse a few dozen protesters trying to remove barbed-wire barriers protecting the presidential palace, witnesses said. A few masked men got as far as the gates before they were beaten back.
Tear gas was also fired at protesters who tried to remove metal barriers outside the state television building.
Outside Cairo, protesters broke into the offices of provincial governors in Ismailia and Kafr el-Sheikhin the Nile Delta. A local government building was torched in the Nile Delta city of al-Mahalla al-Kubra.
Badie calls for 'serious competition'
With an eye on parliamentary elections likely to begin in April, the Brotherhood marked the anniversary with a charity drive across the nation. It plans to deliver medical aid to one million people and distribute affordable basic foodstuffs.
Writing in Al-Ahram, Egypt's flagship state-run daily, Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badiesaid the country was in need of "practical, serious competition" to reform the corrupt state left by the Mubarak era.
Asmaa Waguih / Reuters
On the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, hundreds of youths clash with police.
"The differences of opinion and vision that Egypt is passing through is a characteristic at the core of transitions from dictatorship to democracy, and clearly expresses the variety of Egyptian culture," he wrote.
Morsi's opponents say he and his group are seeking to dominate the post-Mubarak order. They accuse him of showing some of the autocratic impulses of the deposed leader by, for example, driving through the new constitution last month.
"I am taking part in today's marches to reject the warped constitution, the 'Brotherhoodisation'of the state, the attack on the rule of law, and the disregard of the president and his government for the demands for social justice," Amr Hamzawy, a prominent liberal politician, wrote on his Twitter feed.
The Brotherhood says its rivals are failing to respect the rules of the new democracy that put the Islamists in the driving seat via free elections.
Six months into office, Morsi is also being held responsible for an economic crisis caused by two years of turmoil. The Egyptian pound has sunk to record lows against the dollar.
The parties that called for Friday's protests list demands including a complete overhaul of the constitution.
Critics say the constitution, which was approved in a referendum, offers inadequate protection for human rights, grants the president too many privileges and fails to curb the power of a military establishment supreme in the Mubarak era.
Morsi'ssupporters say enacting the constitution quickly was crucial to restoring stability needed for economic recovery.
Related:
PhotoBlog: Egypt riot police set fire to protest tents in Tahrir Square, witness says
Egyptians fear decades of Muslim Brotherhood rule, warn Morsi is no friend to US
'Egypt is free,' crowds cheer after Mubarak quits
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
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I think they need more gun control... And everyone lived happily ever after... The End
I personally think all the democrats in this country who voted for obama should go over to Egypt and help Morsi and the muslim brotherhood because you asss holes helped them over throw Mubarak by electing obama in 08 and then being stupid enough to re-elect him. It's a fact known Islamist along with members of the muslim brotherhood are seen going in and out of the white house on a regular basis. Now obamas sending weapons to help morsi and the brotherhood to kill innocent people which makes these @!$%#s in the white house no different than the taliban, the asss hole in iran, putin, china and all the radical islamist we've been fighting. It's probably just a matter of time before obama and the democrats bring the war against all of us who believe in our Constitution. God Help America because we're not all democrats. We are the good people.
Amen brother!!!
Why is everyone so surprised about Obama siding with the MB? He had them as valued guests in the White House while snubbing heads of states he doesn't like. Obama has been raised a muslim and will always be a muslim. That's where his allegiance lies.
Exactly right! On Sept. 11, 2001 our enemies attacked us with our own aircraft. Beginning in 2009 through the present, our enemies attack us using our own government. I still have faith in America! We will survive this attack! The specific goal of this attack seems to be to lead Americans to loose faith in America and give her up. We refuse to do this. The system may not be perfect, but it is a great system. We don't need more laws, but a simple restoration of morality. It is the loss of morals and standards that has allowed the corruption to enter into the high places. This theater requires that we use our voices, our vote, and the power of prayer to restore Godly principles and morals to These Beautiful United States of America. We will endure!! God Bless America!
Quick... send Hillsarwe with another bag full of cash so we can all forget about this unimportant stuff.
Remember Obama saying the Muslim Brotherhood was moderate! Obama is going to give Egypt a few billion dollars, bunch of new jet fighters, and lots of tanks. Bet they will be used to fight Israel, just like the liberal Democrats and Obama want. Osama Obama also gave money to the terrorists Hamas and is now willing to negotiate with terrorists whose sole purpose is to eliminate Israel. Osama Obama is destroying our economy and wants to take down Israel.
Egypt revolution and the second year and the honest word youth With this downward trend in the new constitution at the hands of Islamic powers......
.Comes weak political stability, and the weakness of the rules of freedom and democracy and the weakness of the rules of judicial independence and weak protection rules of the rights of workers and peasants and the reduction of political participation for them in Parliament, and clear weaknesses constitutional in obliging the state of free education and free health care.
With all this weakness in the framework of the new constitution, generated refusing movement and a constant state of political instability, security, at the hands of successive generations of Egyptian youth, not the January 25 revolution generation alone.
When President Sadat said in January 1977 that it is uprising thieves, the youth told him on the pages of Al-Ahram newspaper it's an honest word for young people has been ratified by the vision and sincerity will continue today in face of Islamic powers on the hands of Egypt's youth.
Egypt revolution and the second year and the honest word youth With this downward trend in the new constitution at the hands of Islamic powers......
.Comes weak political stability, and the weakness of the rules of freedom and democracy and the weakness of the rules of judicial independence and weak protection rules of the rights of workers and peasants and the reduction of political participation for them in Parliament, and clear weaknesses constitutional in obliging the state of free education and free health care.
With all this weakness in the framework of the new constitution, generated refusing movement and a constant state of political instability, security, at the hands of successive generations of Egyptian youth, not the January 25 revolution generation alone.
When President Sadat said in January 1977 that it is uprising thieves, the youth told him on the pages of Al-Ahram newspaper it's an honest word for young people has been ratified by the vision and sincerity will continue today in face of Islamic powers on the hands of Egypt's youth.
Islamic Brotherhood = Pig S()t
At least there they seen the Bull crap in their politics and did something about it...Here in the US of Gays,People are to worry of getting bend over and kissing their bosses azz..
Demockracy for the whole is our governments Mantra. It is not the truth though.
The head of this administration has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize! It was handed to him just before all of this got started. Libya, Egypt, Syria; angry mobs have raped, pillaged, and murdered untold thousands and possibly tens of thousands. Where is this peace that warrants the award of such a prize? I genuinely feel sorry for this man. He will carry with him the guilt of his deeds all the days of his life and quite possibly into eternity lest he repent.
No. This pos of a potus knows no shame, therefore he cannot carry any guilt of his deeds. He WILL meet his his Creator someday, and THEN if he doesn't repent before he dies, he will face the eternal consequences. as for hillary, good luck... I have the sad feeling she doesn't have any feelings left in her old, tired, haggard body. If one has to lose one's soul to gain power in this world, I don't want any part of it.
egypt! let your children be free. let your future be strong.allow no dictators to rule your beliefs and control the future of yourselves and your children. religion has become a problem with your future. too much religion has no future for you and your children. believe in yourselves not your religion. believe in god without instruction. i wish you hope and prosperity.
So this is what the world gets due to Obama and Clinton's foreign policy. The real people of Egypt are now fighting once again for their freedom and now it is from the muslim brotherhood that the president seems to want to protect and help with our neglect and our tax dollars. Why was this failure not addressed in the presidential elections? A lot of people will probably die due the the prez being so stupid and seemingly uncaring about what happens to the freedom lovin people of Egypt that are not muslim terrorists. Oh, let's not forget Benghazi - the murdering of four more Americans due to the president and his administrations belief that they actual have control of the islamic terror groups. Fools - just another Fast & Furious, but far worse.
Lets put a couple of dollars together and send the Muslim Brotherhood a few Pork Roast, a couple of Hams, All their women hot pants and bikini's. With a note don't ever come to America and demand anything about your rights when you respect no one. We have the OK for women to be in Combat. So! watch out.
Fight for what you believe in. The great nation that we get to sit back and put our two cents in needs more people willing to die, not for country, but for the belief that there is something more than country to die for. The fact that you are willing to pay the ultimate price for your country should be the common denominator as to why you are standing next to whomever you are. Instead of spectating, PARTICIPATE!
dP