Egyptian troops prepare for bloody 'Friday of Martyrs' march

REUTERS

Egyptian soldiers stand guard as they close one of the entrances to Tahrir Square in Cairo August 23, 2013.

Egyptian troops and police stood ready in Cairo to foil Muslim Brotherhood plans for "Friday of Martyrs" protests against the army's bloody crackdown on followers of ousted President Mohamed Mursi.

The Brotherhood, hounded by Egypt's new army-backed rulers, has called for marches from 28 mosques after midday prayers in Cairo, testing the resilience of its battered support base.

Security precautions appeared relatively low-key, even near the Fateh mosque in the heart of the capital where gun battles raged last Friday and Saturday, killing scores of people.

The mosque's metal gates and big front door were locked and chained. A doorman said prayers had been canceled. Two armored personnel carriers were parked down the street, where people shopped at a bustling market.

Egypt has endured the bloodiest civil unrest in its modern history since August 14 when police destroyed protest camps set up by Mursi's supporters in Cairo to demand the reinstatement of the Islamist president, who was deposed by the army on July 3 after huge demonstrations against his first year's rule.

Only one riot police truck was parked near the Rabaa al-Adawiya square in northeastern Cairo, home to the Brotherhood's biggest protest vigil until police and troops stormed in, killing hundreds of people, bulldozing barricades and burning tents.

The mosque there was closed for repairs. Workmen in blue overalls stood on scaffolding as they covered its charred walls with white paint. Children scavenged through piles of garbage.

Troops used barbed wire to block off a thoroughfare leading to Nahda Square, the site of the smaller of the two Brotherhood sit-ins.

Traffic moved freely around the huge Nour mosque in the Abbaseya neighborhood. There were no armored vehicles or barbed wire, but Friday prayers there had also been canceled.

The authorities declared a month-long state of emergency last week and they enforce a nightly curfew. The state news agency said the armed forces had strengthened their presence around the presidential palace and the defense ministry.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which won five successive votes held in Egypt after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, is reeling from a week of bloodshed and the arrest of many of its leaders in what the authorities call a battle with terrorism.

In a symbolic victory for the army-dominated old order, Hosni Mubarak, the ex-military former president who ruled Egypt with an iron fist for 30 years before a popular uprising toppled him in 2011, was freed from jail on Thursday. His successor Mursi, Egypt's first freely elected president, remains behind bars.

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