Egypt on Sunday braced for rival demonstrations called by supporters and opponents of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi as it marks the 40th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
The interior ministry warned it would “firmly confront” any violence at the demonstrations on Sunday, which aimed to converge at Cairo’s Tahrir Square, epicentre of the 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak.
Opponents of Morsi, who was ousted and jailed by the army on July 3, began gathering at the square from Saturday evening chanting pro-military slogans, an AFP correspondent reported.
Authorities deployed several armoured vehicles around the square and installed metal detectors at two entrances to allow people inside. All other entrances were sealed.
The 1973 conflict, known as the October War in the Arab world and the Yom Kippur War in Israel, is remembered proudly by the Egyptian army because it caught Israel by surprise. The war ultimately led to the recovery of the Sinai Peninsula in a 1979 peace treaty.
“The Egypt Anti-Coup Alliance repeats its call to all Egyptians to continue their protests in every part of Egypt, and to gather in Tahrir Square on Sunday, October 6, to celebrate the army of that victory and its leaders,” the pro-Morsi Islamist group led by the Muslim Brotherhood said Saturday.
