Egypt: Police clamp down on anti-government protest

Police on Monday fired tear gas to disperse about fifty protesters in the center of the capital, Cairo.

Videos uploaded to social media showed anti-government protesters chanting and marching in the Dokki neighbourhood before they were dispersed.

The protest was part of what opposition groups had expected to be a day of large demonstrations against the president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s rule, reports Reuters.

Anti-Sissi protest breaks out in Dokki and is dispersed almost as quickly as it starts #egypt pic.twitter.com/09qyaUBRi6

— Leila Fadel (@LeilaFadel) April 25, 2016

Thousands of Egyptians had earlier this month protested president al Sisi’s decision to hand over two islands to Saudi Arabia and demanded the fall of his government.

Security forces moved swiftly on Monday to prevent a repeat of this scenario, blocking roads in Cairo leading to popular downtown meeting points and dispersing the march in the Dokki neighbourhood with tear gas as it took off, a witness told Reuters.

The demonstration on Monday, coincided with the celebration of the return of Sinai to Egypt by Israel in 1982.

The AFP reports that several arrests were made including journalists who were released after a verification of their identities.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, a Cairo-based human rights group said police have in recent days arrested over 90 people across eight governorates.

Groups of youth were arrested from coffee shops and others targeted in their homes, the group said.