QR Code

Dozens Arrested in Egypt after Rare anti-Sisi Protests

AFP , 22 Sep 2019 06:58

Security forces on Saturday maintained tight control in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the epicentre of Egypt’s 2011 revolution, after protests in several cities calling for the removal of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, AFP agency reported.

In a rare show of dissent, hundreds of Egyptians poured through the streets of Cairo late Friday, chanting slogans including “Leave, Sisi!” and demanding the “fall of the regime”.

At least 74 people were arrested after clashes between the crowds and police in the capital, a security source told AFP.

On Saturday, security forces were deployed in force in Tahrir Square and plain clothed agents patrolled sidestreets of downtown Cairo.

The protests came on the back of an online call posted by Mohamed Aly, a disgruntled exiled Egyptian businessman, demanding Sisi be toppled. He upped the pressure on Saturday in an expletive-filled video, imploring Egyptians to join in a “million-man march” next Friday and to fill all “major squares” of the country.

Story Code: 817637