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       #Post#: 627--------------------------------------------------
       Egypt: 51 Killed In National Holiday Clashes
       By: mr nad Date: October 7, 2013, 12:55 pm
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       Despite ¡®precautions¡¯ taken by the military, Egypt stumbled
       deeper into turmoil after a national holiday celebrating the
       military turned to mayhem, leaving 51 dead across the country
       and exposing the deep divisions plaguing the nation.
       The high death toll in Sunday¡¯s clashes between security forces
       and Islamist protesters came as crowds from Egypt¡¯s two rival
       camps ¨C supporters of the ousted Islamist president, Mohammed
       Morsi, and backers of the military that deposed him ¨C poured
       into the streets and turned on each other.
       Morsi¡¯s supporters fired birdshot and threw firebombs at police
       who responded with gunshots and teargas.
       Even as fighting continued in the streets, the military went
       ahead with lavish celebrations for the holiday marking the 40th
       anniversary of the start of the 1973 Mideast war with Israel.
       On Sunday evening, a concert was aired live on state TV from a
       military-run Cairo stadium where pop stars from Egypt, Lebanon
       and the Gulf sang anthems to the army and dancers twirled on
       stage before a cheering crowd. Military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah
       el-Sissi, other top brass and interim President Adly Mansour
       attended the show.
       ¡°There are those who think the military can be broken,¡±
       el-Sissi said in an address at the concert.
       ¡°You see the Pyramids? The military is like the pyramids,
       because the Egyptian people are on its side.¡±
       Mohammed Morsi was Egypt¡¯s first civilian and first freely
       elected president, succeeding four since the early 1950s who
       hailed from a military background. But after a year in office,
       Morsi was faced by massive protests demanding his ouster,
       accusing his Muslim Brotherhood of taking over power ¨C and on
       July 3, el-Sissi removed him.
       The military is now back as the real source of power in Egypt,
       and state and independent media have been depicting it as the
       country¡¯s saviour ¨C with growing calls for el-Sissi to run in
       the presidential election due early next year.
       Since the fierce crackdown on Morsi¡¯s Muslim Brotherhood, over
       2,000 from their ranks have been jailed.
       Thousands of their backers held marches in various parts of
       Cairo, while at the same time crowds in support of the military
       took to the streets. In some cases, the two sides set upon each
       other, pelting each other with rocks and firebombs.
       The Health Ministry reported 51 people killed nationwide, at
       least 40 of them in Cairo, and more than 240 injured. The
       Interior Ministry, which is in charge of the police, said 423
       Morsi supporters were detained across the nation.
       ¡°At the time when festivities are arranged for one section of
       the population, they call on Egyptians to dance on the dead
       bodies of their compatriots who oppose the coup,¡± a coalition
       grouping the Brotherhood and its allies said in a statement. It
       called for a rally in Cairo¡¯s central Tahrir Square on Friday.
       While clashes claimed lives in Tahrir Square, The scenes of
       clashe Sunday¡¯s carnival-like Pmood in Tahrir, where thousands
       of supporters of the military waved Egyptian flags, blew
       whistles and touted posters of el-Sissi. Adding to the
       festivities, a military band played, and men spun in whirling
       dervish-style dances.
       Demonstrators distributed petitions demanding that el-Sissi run
       for president.
       ¡°We cannot find a man who can run the country at this stage
       except for him (el-Sissi),¡± said aspiring actor Wafaa
       el-Sharqawi as she handed out the petition.
       Soldiers barricaded entrances to Tahrir with barbed wire and
       armoured personnel vehicles to guard it against possible
       attempts by Morsi¡¯s supporters to enter the square ¨C the
       epicentre of the anti-Mubarak uprising nearly three years ago.
       Army helicopters flew low over the square, and some two dozen
       F-16 jet-fighters staged a celebratory flight over Cairo in late
       morning, ushering in the commemoration of the 1973 war.
       At 2pm ¨C the time the war began in 1973 ¨C church bells tolled
       and chants of ¡°Allahu akbar,¡± or ¡°God is greatest,¡± blared
       from the mosques.
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