CAIRO — At least 19 people were killed Sunday when a protest by Egyptian Christians over the burning of a church escalated into rioting against military rule, with some protesters crushed to death by military vehicles and violence reaching levels not seen since the uprising that overthrew the president in February.
The rioting took place against a backdrop of tension between protesters and the military, which has been in power since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, over the military’s continued postponement of its withdrawal from power. The protests were aimed at the military, both for its perceived failure to protect Coptic churches, and outrage over its prolonged rule, which a recently released timetable said could last into 2014.
The rally began in the mostly Coptic neighborhood of Shubra early Sunday, fueled by anger over the burning of a church Aswan, in southern Egypt, last week.
Copts, members of Egypt’s Christian minority sect, and some Muslims marched to the Radio and Television Building, a skyscraper in downtown Cairo on the Nile River, where another sit-in was already being staged.
Witnesses said that around 6 p.m., when the two protests converged, protesters and plainclothes security forces began throwing rocks at each other.
The security forces responded by driving their vehicles into the crowd. At least four Copts were run over and killed, witnesses said.
In all, 19 people were killed, including two soldiers, the government said.
State television and radio broadcast a message asking “honest Egyptians” to come out of their homes and protect the security forces.
Some Muslims who heeded the call clashed with the Coptic protesters, but many joined them in solidarity. By late evening thousands of people still on the streets engaged in sporadic clashes with hundreds of military police officers and security personnel.
Some witnesses said that protesters had snatched weapons from the security forces, The Associated Press reported. Gunshots were heard before security forces fired tear gas, dispersing the crowd, before the army cordoned off the surrounding streets.
The clashes left streets littered with shattered glass, stones, ashes and soot from burned vehicles and hundreds of curious onlookers gathered at one of the bridges over the Nile nearby to watch. Television showed a group of Copts attacking a soldier, as a priest tried to protect the man. As ambulances rushed from the scene, a soldier was seen collapsing in tears, The A.P. reported.
Months ago, Coptic protesters called on the military to support them against hardline Muslim extremists, but on Sunday their fury had a new target.
As they marched, many shouted, “the people want to bring down the field marshal,” referring to Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the top officer of the military council leading Egypt’s interim government. Their cries were an adaptation of the chant “the people want to bring down the regime,” that was ubiquitous during the spring uprising.
By 10 p.m., as the tumult quieted down, groups of men wielding bats joined with police officers patrolling the street, marching back and forth between Tahrir Square and the protest site. Many shouted pro-army and pro-Islam slogans, including yet another version of the slogan that marked the February uprising: “The people want to bring down the Christians.”
Shit. I hope this doesn't escalate. Egypt's hopes of democracy would be crushed if they did, and its about time the people got a democracy instead of decades of military rule or Islamist theocracy.
Damn you know it. You so smart you brought up like history and shit. Laying down facts like you was a blues clues episode or something. How you get so smart? Like the puns and shit you use are wicked smart, Red Letter Moron! HAHAHAHAH!1 Fucks that is funny, you like should be on TV with Jeff Dunham and shit.-emersonlakeandbalmer God is like the strict dad while Satan is the cool uncle who gives you weed. However sometimes he'll be a dick and turn you in.
Crateria wrote:Shit. I hope this doesn't escalate. Egypt's hopes of democracy would be crushed if they did, and its about time the people got a democracy instead of decades of military rule or Islamist theocracy.
What are you talking about? It's always been military rule, and has been even as Mubarak stepped down.
STGOD: Byzantine Empire Your spirit, diseased as it is, refuses to allow you to give up, no matter what threats you face... and whatever wreckage you leave behind you.
Kreia
Crateria wrote:Shit. I hope this doesn't escalate. Egypt's hopes of democracy would be crushed if they did, and its about time the people got a democracy instead of decades of military rule or Islamist theocracy.
What are you talking about? It's always been military rule, and has been even as Mubarak stepped down.
Listen to what I said. I wrote about Egypt's HOPES of democracy, not their actual government, which is obviously a military junta.
Damn you know it. You so smart you brought up like history and shit. Laying down facts like you was a blues clues episode or something. How you get so smart? Like the puns and shit you use are wicked smart, Red Letter Moron! HAHAHAHAH!1 Fucks that is funny, you like should be on TV with Jeff Dunham and shit.-emersonlakeandbalmer God is like the strict dad while Satan is the cool uncle who gives you weed. However sometimes he'll be a dick and turn you in.
Crateria wrote:
Listen to what I said. I wrote about Egypt's HOPES of democracy, not their actual government, which is obviously a military junta.
Which won't happen. The military effectively runs more than half the economy. Trying to dislodge them will be impossible.
STGOD: Byzantine Empire Your spirit, diseased as it is, refuses to allow you to give up, no matter what threats you face... and whatever wreckage you leave behind you.
Kreia
