Thousands of supporters of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood stood their ground outside a Cairo mosque yesterday a day after at least 72 were gunned down by security forces, braced for a move against them by the army chief behind the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made his first appearance since Saturday’s bloodshed, smiling before TV cameras at a police graduation ceremony. He received a standing ovation and was hailed by Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim as “Egypt’s devoted son”.
Fawning coverage in the media reflected Sisi’s rising star, in a country ruled by former military officers for six decades before Morsi’s election in 2012.
Saturday’s dawn killings, following a day of rival mass rallies, triggered global anxiety that the Arab world’s most populous and influential country risked broader conflagration.
The Brotherhood accuses the military of turning back the clock on the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, and demands that Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president, be reinstated.
Morsi has been in military detention since his July 3 overthrow and the military-backed interim government has placed him under investigation on charges including murder.
Authorities also say they will move soon to clear the Brotherhood’s tent vigil.
“It’s a source of terrorism that’s threatening the whole society, and that’s being confirmed by the day,” said Mostafa Hegazy, adviser to interim President Adli Mansour.
“We’re calling for the sit-ins to be dispersed peacefully,” he told reporters.
Army vehicles surrounded entrances to the square outside the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in northern Cairo yesterday, where Brotherhood supporters used pictures of the bearded Morsi to shelter from the fierce sun.
“We are right, legitimacy is on our side and hopefully at the end God will lead us to triumph and we will not give up,” said Mostafa Ali, 29, from the Nile delta town of Mansoura.
The Interior Ministry has rejected eyewitness accounts that police opened fire on the crowds and a public prosecutor has launched a probe into the violence.
In a first sign of doubt from within the interim Cabinet, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Ziad Bahaa El-Din said the government must not copy the “oppressive” policies of its foes.
He wrote on Facebook, “Our position must remain fixed on the need to provide legal guarantees not only for the members of the Brotherhood, but for every Egyptian citizen. Excessive force is not permitted.”