Fresh clashes plunge Egypt into deep crisis
Cairo: Egypt on Wednesday plunged deeper into its worst political crisis since Islamist President Mohamed Morsi took office in June, with massive opposition rallies nationwide signalling a new “revolution” nearly two years after Hosni Mubarak was toppled.
Police early on Wednesday fired tear gas into Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where several hundred protesters spent the night after a mass rally to denounce Morsi’s power grab. Clashes that have been erupting on streets just off Tahrir near the US embassy spilled into the square, with canisters falling into the crowd forcing protesters to run and sending clouds of tear gas over the tents housing the demonstrators.
The outskirts of the square have seen sporadic clashes now entering their ninth day, in what started as an anniversary protest to mark one year since deadly confrontations with police in the same area. Clashes also raged through the night between supporters and opponents of Morsi in the Nile Delta city of Mahalla and the canal city of Port Said.
In Mahalla, 132 people were injured while 27 were hurt in Port Said, medical sources said. According to a security official, calm in both towns had been restored by morning. Tuesday’s huge turnout for a protest rally in the iconic square in the heart of Cairo, as well as in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and most of Egypt’s 27 provinces, marked the largest mobilisation yet against the president.
“The revolution returns to the square,“ headlined the state-owned daily Al-Akhbar. “Revolution to save the revolution,” said the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm. Protesters are furious at the decree that Morsi announced last Thursday allowing him to “issue any decision or law that is final and not subject to appeal”, which effectively placed him beyond judicial oversight. AFP
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