Military and police forces shut down Tahrir Square on Friday before morning traffic in anticipation of the pro-Mohamed Morsy demonstrations staged by the National Alliance to support the legitimacy.
The forces set up roadblocks and barbed wire at the main entrances to the square, while deploying several armored vehicles in the vicinity of Rabea al-Adaweya square and the Ettehadeya Presidential Palace, northeast Cairo, according to witnesses.
Other cities have also seen a state of security alert to protect vital installations, including Suez, Ismailia, Port Said, Beni Suef and Alexandria.
The National Alliance to Support Legitimacy has called for protests on Friday to mark 100 days since the killings of 36 people affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood inside an Abu Zaabal prison truck. The protests are held under the slogan “retribution is coming.”
Four police officers are facing charges of manslaughter, negligence and failure to perform their duties when they fired tear gas inside an inmate transport van in the Abu Zaabal prison in Qalubia, north Cairo in mid-August.
The ministry claims that after their arrival at the prison in the van, Morsy supporters held a police officer hostage, prompting security forces to use tear gas inside the van to prevent their escape and resulting in the deaths of 36 arrested supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsy. The ministry said that the deaths were caused by suffocation and a stampede.
Edited translation from Anadolu Agency
