Egyptian Government Response to Protests Leave Many Dead

At least 28 people have been killed and 85 injured across Egypt after anti-government demonstrations Sunday on the 40th anniversary of the start of the 1973 Yom Kippur War of Arab states against Israel.

Police are reported to have used live ammunition against Egyptians in the province of Minya, 150 miles south of Cairo, and tear gas in Cairo and Alexandria. Authorities warned that demonstrators would be treated as foreign militants.

“Protesters against the army on the anniversary of (the October 6) victory will be carrying out the duties of agents, not activists,” said Ahmed al-Muslimani, spokesman for the current military government. “It is not befitting to go from a struggle against authorities to a conflict with the nation.”

The warning came in response to calls by the embattled Muslim Brotherhood to commemorate the war by staging demonstrations against the government that ousted and replaced democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi after a military coup July 3.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

Al-Jazeera America and Reuters:

The Muslim Brotherhood wasn’t the only group expected to rally on Sunday. Government supporters also planned to commemorate the 1973 joint attack by Egypt and Syria on Israeli-occupied territories which preceded the Sinai’s return to Egypt and normalized relations.

Political tensions have gripped Egypt and stymied its economy since the army ousted Morsi, installed an interim government and drew up a political road map it promised would bring fair elections.

On Saturday, an estimated 1,000 anti-government protesters tried to reach Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in northeast Cairo, where security forces crushed one of their protest camps in August. All but about 50 protesters were turned back by police, who fired tear gas, security sources said.

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