1000 march in Cairo to protest against security forces

PanARMENIAN.Net - About 1,000 people marched in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Monday, November 18 night to condemn the actions of Egyptian security forces and some voiced rare criticism of the army chief, raising tension on the eve of planned mass protests, according to Reuters.

Large numbers of demonstrators were expected to turn out on Tuesday, extending turmoil that has dogged Egypt since the army ousted elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and has wrecked investment and tourism in the major, U.S.-allied Arab state.

Monday's rally began in the afternoon to commemorate people killed in clashes with security forces two years ago, then turned into chanting against General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose forces toppled Mursi in July.

Army and police who had been stationed by armored personnel carriers after sealing off Tahrir melted away by the time the protesters arrived at the square, the heart of the 2011 popular uprising that ejected autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

"A word in your ear, Sisi, don't dream of being my president!" the protesters yelled. It was not clear why army and police units made no attempt to stop the demonstrators.

Sisi has become wildly popular in Egypt since Mursi's exit, and many believe he would win if he runs for president in elections expected next year.

But some Egyptians are opposed both to Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood and the current military-steered government, and they dominated the Tahrir Square rally.

Tuesday's expected mass protests will commemorate the second anniversary of the deaths of 42 people opposed to the military council ruling Egypt at the time in clashes with security forces on Mohamed Mahmoud Street, near Tahrir.

The army toppled Mursi a year after he took over from the generals who have dominated Egypt for decades.

A major element in the instability plaguing Egypt since then has been militants based in the volatile Sinai who have stepped up violence since July, killing security forces almost daily in the peninsula near Israel.

Militant operations in Cairo have stirred concern that an Islamist insurgency could take hold beyond the Sinai in the Arab world's largest country, which contains the Suez Canal, the vital, quickest sea route between Asia and Europe.

The army says a political roadmap will lead to free and fair elections and stability to Egypt, where the revolt that brought down Mubarak in February 2011 raised prospects for democracy after decades of authoritarian rule.