Police fire tear gas, live rounds
Egyptian security forces, for the second consecutive night ,clashed with hundreds of anti-government protesters in the port city of Suez on Saturday, firing tear gas and live rounds, said locals.
A heavy security presence was also maintained in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the epicentre of Egypt’s 2011 revolution, after protests in several cities called for the removal of general-turned-president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Such demonstrations are rare after Egypt effectively banned protests under a law passed following the 2013 military ouster of Islamist ex-president Mohamed Morsi.
But discontent over rising prices has been swelling in Egypt, where Sisi’s government has imposed strict austerity measures since 2016. Nearly one in three Egyptians live below the poverty line on less than $1.40 a day.
On Saturday protesters headed to downtown Suez for the second night in a row, where they were met by security forces.
“There were about 200 or so people. They (security forces) fired tear gas, rubber and live bullets and there were injuries”, a man who took part in the demonstration but declined to be named told AFP.
On late Friday, hundreds of Egyptians poured through the streets of Cairo, 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.
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