Egypt prepares for second Friday of rage

Whistleblower Mohamed Ali, backed by Egyptians, is calling for a second Friday of rage in continuation of the protests that have taken place in the country for almost two weeks.

Ali called on Egyptians to unite against General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on the anniversary of the 20 September protests against soaring prices and widespread house demolitions, which are taking place under the pretext that they have been constructed illegally.

So far, the protests have mainly taken place in rural areas, away from the heavy security presence in the main cities, and are concentrated in Upper Egypt

In a video posted on Facebook, Ali called for Egyptians to go to Tahrir Square today on “the Friday of Victory”, where the January 25 2011 uprising began, because he believes they will have more impact.

Social media users posted under the Arabic hashtag, #The_Second_Friday_of_Anger, calling for protests to continue against the deterioration of living conditions and the ongoing police and security services’ raids of people’s homes.

On Wednesday, police killed Awais Al-Rawi during a raid at this home in Luxor after he objected to police assaulting his elderly father and asked for a warrant to search his house.

READ: Egypt police kill Luxor man then shoot mourners at his funeral

A video posted under the trending Arabic hashtag, Friday we’re coming out in our millions, shows police shooting into crowds of mourners who gathered for Awais’ funeral.

Widespread anger at his death and the heavy-handed police response, which has seen tear gas, live bullets and ammunition being fired into crowds, has further fuelled protesters.

Last Friday’s day of rage saw police kill 25-year-old Sami Wagdy Bashir in Al-Blida village in Giza Governorate with live ammunition.

Regime supporters have called for a counter protest in the main squares of cities in support of the general turned President Al-Sisi.

Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports that the Interior Ministry’s National Security Agency sent letters to ministers directing employees to gather in front of their offices where buses would take them to join the pro-regime demonstrations.

They were warned that if they did not attend, they may be dismissed from work and accused of “belonging to a banned group”.