US Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Egypt a day before deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi goes on trial, the next likely flashpoint in the struggle between his Muslim Brotherhood and the army-backed interim government.
Several hundred Islamists protested in a few cities on Friday, responding to a call from a pro-Mursi alliance for daily protests until the ousted President stands trial tomorrow.
In Alexandria, seven people were wounded after residents clashed with Morsi supporters before security forces intervened, a security official said. Forty-five Morsi supporters were arrested.
Fighting also erupted in the Gisr al-Suez district of Cairo.
Ties between Washington and strategic ally Cairo have deteriorated since the overthrow of Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected President. The state news agency said Kerry’s visit to Egypt, the first since Morsi’s fall, would only last several hours.
Morsi’s removal has posed a dilemma for Obama in dealing with a long standing strategic ally
A mass uprising which toppled authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak, a longtime US ally, in February 2011 had raised hopes that military men would no longer dominate Egypt.
But the man who removed Morsi, army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has become a wildly popular figure and many Egyptians have turned against the Brotherhood and anyone perceived as its supporter, including the US.
State-run newspapers often carry conspiracy theories which suggest Washington backed the Brotherhood to ensure US domination of Egypt and the rest of the Middle East. One even reported that President Barack Obama is a Brotherhood member.
Those dynamics could make it difficult for Washington to lobby successfully for democracy in Egypt.
In a sign of the tension, the US said on October 9 it would withhold deliveries of tanks, fighter aircraft, helicopters and missiles, as well as $260 million in cash aid to Egypt, pending progress on democracy and human rights.
Morsi’s removal has posed a dilemma for Obama in dealing with a longstanding strategic ally.