Protesters defy Egyptian curfew
2013-01-28 22:32
Cairo - Thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets of the Egyptian cities of Port Said, Ismailia and Suez late on Monday in defiance of President Mohammed Morsi's declaration of a curfew and a state of emergency after days of deadly unrest.
The crowds shouted "Down down with Mohammed Morsi, down down with the state of emergency," in Ismailia and similar slogans were heard in the other cities along the Suez Canal.
Around 50 Egyptians have been killed in clashes between protesters and police. Most of the deaths happened in Port Said and Suez and Mursi declared a curfew in the three canal cities from 19:00 GMT to 04:00 GMT.
Mahmud Abu al-Majd, who spoke to
AFP on the phone from Port Said, said: "We are on the streets because no
one can impose their will on us. We won't bow to the government."
In Ismailiya, witnesses said the protesters decided to hold football matches on the streets as part of their protests.
State television, meanwhile, reported that hundreds of people took to the streets of Suez City.
Morsi
on Sunday declared a month-long state of emergency in the provinces of
Port Said, Suez and Ismailiya after they were hit by deadly riots that
left around 50 dead and hundreds wounded
On
Monday, the Islamist-dominated Senate ratified a law that would grant
the armed forces powers of arrest, the official MENA news agency
reported.
