Tight Security Measures in Cairo on Anniversary of 2011 Revolution


Tight Security Measures in Cairo on Anniversary of 2011 Revolution

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Egyptian government tightened security in the capital, Cairo, to counter any possible protest on Sunday on the anniversary of the popular uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak from power in 2011.

The Egyptian security forces have been deployed to Nahda Square in Giza as the army has dispatched a number of armored vehicles, including personnel carriers to the square, which is sealed off by barbed wire.

Tahrir Square, which became the symbolic heart of the revolution that ended Mubarak's 30 years of rule, is also sealed off by security forces for the second consecutive day as 22 armored vehicles are stationed in the roads to the square.

Security forces were also dispatched to Rabaa Square in northeast Cairo, where hundreds of supporters of former president Mohamed Mursi were killed in August 2014, one month after the army toppled him.

Although a security crackdown has virtually ended street demonstrations, several took place this week in Cairo and Egypt's second city, Alexandria.

In a televised address on Saturday, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi praised the desire for change Egyptians showed four years ago but said it would take patience to achieve all of "the revolution's goals".

Opponents say new laws, including one restricting protests, have rolled back freedoms won in the uprising, when hundreds died as security forces clashed with protesters. Islamists and liberal activists, including many who supported removing Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood, have been jailed.

Mubarak-era figures are slowly being cleared of charges and laws curtailing political freedoms have raised fears among activists that the old leadership is regaining influence, according to Reuters.

An Egyptian court ordered the release of Mubarak's sons Alaa and Gamal on Thursday pending a retrial in a corruption case. In November, a court dropped charges against Mubarak of conspiring to kill protesters in the uprising.

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