Egypt: Sisi calls for 'mobilisation of youth supporters'

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has ordered the country’s youth ministry, loyal political parties, and parliament members to mobilise a number of his supporters on Friday, local media reported yesterday.

Local sources said that Sisi had demanded the youth ministry “to collect 50 chaps from each national youth centre with the aim of gathering for a pro-Sisi demonstrate on Friday, in return for money.”

They added that he ordered the youth “to demonstrate in the Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square and the Cairo Stadium.”

The Egyptian parliament was also reported to have called on Sisi supporting parties, including “National Future Party,” to mobilise Sisi supporters for demonstrations across the capital city of Cairo on Friday.

Read: Calls for UK to protect protesters in Egypt 

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in central Cairo and several other cities last week to protest Sisi’s rule, economic hardships due to ongoing austerity measures. The protests came in response to calls by the exiled, former army contractor Mohamed Ali.

In a series of videos detailing his work with the armed forces which went viral, Ali confirmed that the government and the military are squandering millions of pounds of public money on vanity projects as they roll out severe austerity measures in the country.

Since then, security services have been rounding up journalists, lawyers and politicians in a bid to quash further demonstrations.