Cairo protests: Mass uprising against Egyptian president as demands grow for resignation after crackdown on critics

Egyptian capital descends into chaos as people rise up against ‘brutal’ president

Protesters create a rare sight of dissent in Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s Egypt as they demonstrate in Cairo in September (Reuters)

Rare anti-government protests broke out in Egypt Friday calling on President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi to step down.

The former army general has overseen an unprecedented political crackdown, silencing critics and jailing thousands. Mr Sisi came to power with the military’s ousting of an elected but divisive Islamist president in 2013, amid mass protests against his one-year-rule.

In the capital, Cairo, dozens of protesters gathered on Friday night near Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the 2011 pro-democracy uprising that toppled long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Demonstrators chanted slogans echoing the Arab Spring uprisings that briefly defied dictatorships across the region.

The protesters were responding to a call by a self-exiled businessman who has claimed – without providing evidence – there is extensive corruption in the military and government.

In viral social media videos posted over the past weeks, Mohammed Ali alleged his contracting business had witnessed the large scale misuse of public funds in the building of luxurious hotels, presidential palaces and a tomb for Mr Sisi’s mother, who died in 2014.

The allegations came as economic reforms and austerity have squeezed Egypt’s lower and middle classes badly.

In a speech on Tuesday, Mr Sisi angrily dismissed the allegations as “sheer lies”. He portrayed Mr Ali’s videos as an attempt to weaken Egypt and undermine the public’s trust in the military.

He said he would continue building new presidential residences for the good of Egypt. “I am building a new country,” he said.

The president also warned Egyptians against protesting or repeating the 2011 uprising.

On Friday, security forces speedily dispersed the scattered protests, which came directly after a soccer game between al-Ahly, Egypt’s biggest team, and its arch rival Zamalek. No casualties were reported.

The willingness of the protesters to defy police and laws that all but ban public protests suggests Friday could be a turning point, however small.

“This is a very important development because this was the first such protest against the rule of el-Sisi,” said political scientist Mustapha Kamel al-Sayyid of Cairo University. “The small demonstrations demolished the wall of fear installed by el-Sisi and that could lead to more protests in the future.”

The Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights said security forces reportedly rounded up at least four-dozen people in Cairo and elsewhere in the country.

There were also small protests in other cities including the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Saturday urged Egyptian authorities to protect the right to peaceful protest.

“President el-Sisi’s security agencies have time and again used brutal force to crush peaceful protests,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at HRW. “The authorities should recognise that the world is watching and take all necessary steps to avoid a repetition of past atrocities.”

Egyptian authorities did not immediately comment. Mr Sisi was in New York on Saturday to attend the UN summit meetings, the state-run MENA news agency reported.

AP