Post-coup unrest in Egypt (2013–2014)

Protests against the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état erupted in July 2013. Immediately following the removal of President Mohamed Morsi on 3 July 2013 amid demonstrations against Morsi's rule, many protesters amassed near the Rabia Al-Adawiya Mosque to call for Morsi's return to power and condemn the military, while others demonstrated in support of the military and interim government. Deadly clashes such as Rabaa massacre continued for several days, with three particularly bloody incidents being described by officials as "massacres" perpetrated by security forces. During the month of Ramadan (10 July – 7 August), prime minister Hazem al-Beblawy threatened to disperse the ongoing Pro-Morsi sit-ins in Rabaa al-Adaweya square and al-Nahda square. The government crackdown of these protests occurred in a violent dispersal on 14 August 2013. In mid-August, the violence directed by the army towards the protesters escalated, with hundreds killed, and the government declaring a month-long nighttime curfew.

Background

Egypt in transition

Protests against President Hosni Mubarak in early 2011 led to his resignation and trial after the Egyptian military switched its allegiance to the demonstrators. Mubarak's downfall was only the second revolution in the Arab world of the revolutionary wave known as the Arab Spring.

Vice President Omar Suleiman, who announced Mubarak's resignation in February 2011, handed power to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Egypt came under martial law as top generals led by Mohamed Hussein Tantawi began directing Egypt toward democratic elections. This period was marked by further conflict and continuing protests, as demonstrators who had cheered the support of the military in removing Mubarak turned against the generals when they began imposing harsh security measures and tamping down on revolutionary activity. The Muslim Brotherhood emerged as a leading voice in criticizing military rule.

An Islamist-dominated parliament was elected in late 2011 and early 2012. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces dissolved the body in June 2012, saying many of the elections were illegitimate.

Morsi administration

Presidential elections were held in mid-2012. No candidate garnered as much as a quarter of the vote in the first round of elections. The top two candidates advanced to the runoff: Mohamed Morsi of the Freedom and Justice Party, the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood, and Ahmed Shafik, an independent candidate who served as prime minister of Egypt under Mubarak. Morsi strongly criticized the Mubarak regime and offered a vision for Egypt as an Islamic democracy, while Shafik, a secularist, promised to restore order. Morsi ultimately prevailed in the runoff, defeating Shafik by a margin of 3.5 percentage points. While Islamists hailed Morsi's election with enthusiasm, many Copts and liberals viewed the runoff as a choice between two unappealing candidates.

Morsi reinstated parliament days after his election, and lawmakers set to work drafting a constitution. The constitution was passed over the objections of opposition members who argued the process was faulty. When put to a referendum in December 2012, the constitution was approved by a nearly 28-point margin, as supporters successfully argued that approval of the constitution was needed to ensure stability.

However, Morsi's government faced popular protests after the president decreed in November 2012 that he had vast powers that could not be checked by the courts. Protesters called for Morsi to withdraw his constitutional declaration or resign from office. Within weeks, Morsi annulled the declaration, days before the constitution itself was approved by voters.

2012-13 Protests

Coup d'état

Protests against Morsi continued throughout the first half of 2013, whipping up in June 2013 briefly after the president appointed an Islamist accused of involvement in the Luxor massacre to head the Luxor Governorate and culminating in mass demonstrations that began on 30 June. Protesters criticized Morsi for alleged mismanagement of the country and for the growing influence of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Tamarod movement, which translates into English as "Rebel", claimed it had gathered 22 million signatures from Egyptians opposed to Morsi. According to some sources, the protests were the largest in Egypt's history.

The Egyptian Armed Forces again sided with demonstrators against the regime, warning Morsi to respond to protesters' demands or face a "political road map" widely expected to involve the president's removal from office. Despite this, Morsi remained defiant, giving a speech on 2 July insisting he was the legitimate president and would sooner die than relinquish power. The next day, Defence Minister Abdul Fatah al-Sisi informed Morsi that he was no longer president and addressed the country on television to announce the change in leadership.

Formation of new government

Indications on 6 July 2013 that Mohamed ElBaradei would be sworn in as prime minister proved to be incorrect. The next day, a founding member of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party named Ziad Bahaa El-Din was reportedly offered the post of Prime Minister, while ElBaradei was nominated as vice president. Younes Makhioun, chairman of the Nour Party, objected to both appointments because both of them belong to the same political coalition (the National Salvation Front); he called for nominees who were "politically neutral" instead. The Nour Party rejected El-Din on 7 July 2013 and pulled out of the transitional process altogether on 8 July 2013 because of the 2013 Republican Guard Headquarters clashes. However, the party has advised the interim government on ministerial candidates, including Ahmed Darwish. Hazem Al Beblawi was sworn in as prime minister on 9 July 2013 with the backing of the Nour Party.

Chronology

Prelude

3 July military coup

On 3 July, General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, head of the Egyptian Armed Forces, announced that he there would be calling new presidential and Shura Council elections. The coalition appointed Chief Justice Adly Mansour as the interim president and charged him with forming a transitional technocratic government. Military vehicles drove throughout Cairo. Morsi was put under house arrest, and was believed to be at the Republican Guard barracks. According to other sources he was taken to a military base and his travel was restricted. Army troops and tanks were reported to have surrounded key facilities and installations. At noon, the Republican Guard, who had Morsi in their care, left his side to allow Army commandos to take him to an undisclosed Ministry of Defence building. He offered no resistance.

General al-Sisi said: "The president's speech last night failed to meet and conform with the demands f the people, prompting the armed forces to consultwith some of the symbols of the national forces and the youths without excluding anyone. hey agreed on a road mapthat includes initial steps that realize the building of a strong and coherent Egyptian society that does not exclude any of its sons and currents and that end the state of conflict and division." He added the army was standing apart from the political process but was using its vision as the Egyptian people were calling for help and discharged its responsibility. Al-Sisi named former Chief Justice Adli Mansour as the interim president and added that he would be sworn in on 4 July. The Shura Council was also dissolved.
Morsi condemned his removal as a "full coup" by the general. He also urged everyone to "adhere to peacefulness and avoid shedding blood of fellow countrymen."
The Office of Assistant to President of Egypt on Foreign Relations called Morsi's removal a "military coup", and said "there is no democracy without the ballot box".

The announcement of the removal of Morsi was met with cheers in Tahrir Square. Anti-Morsi protesters shouted " Allahu akbar" and "Long live Egypt" and launched fireworks as green laser lights held by those in the crowd lit the sky. Mohamed el-Baradei says the coup was to rectify the issues of the revolution. The Coptic Pope Tawadros II, Grand Imam of al-Azhar Ahmed el-Tayeb, Mohamed ElBaradei and some of the youth leaders of Tamarod, Mahmoud Badr and Mohamed Abdelaziz, spoke in support of the military intervention. The al-Nour party also commented in saying that the events occurred as they were not heard in their call for dialogue. Party Secretary-General Galal Murra commented that: "we took this position (on agreeing to the army political road map) and we took these decisions only so we stop the bloodshed of our people." Pro-Morsi protesters heard a statement from Morsi, which was published on his Facebook page. He called the move a "coup" and rejected the Armed Forces' statement.

The Freedom and Justice Party's Gamal Heshmat said: "There is absolutely no direction towards violence. The Brotherhood are not raised on violence. Their cause is a peaceful one, defending their rights, which is stronger than a "military coup". The army has perpetrated a "shameful coup". We are still in the street, we still don't know if all of the armed forces will accept what Sisi has done." A party spokesman said that what started as a military coup was "turning into something much more." The National Salvation Front, an alliance of multiple political parties, stated on 4 July that "what Egypt is witnessing now is not a military coup by any standards. It was a necessary decision that the Armed Forces' leadership took to protect democracy, maintain the country's unity and integrity, restore stability and get back on track towards achieving the goals of the January 25 Revolution."

4 July

Adly Mansour, Chief Justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt, was sworn in as interim president. Mansour gave a speech in which he praised demonstrators for toppling the government, saying, "I offer my greetings to the revolutionary people of Egypt."

Violence continued with over 100 people wounded and at least two deaths, believed to be that of children. The Muslim Brotherhood's spokesman called for "strictly peaceful" protests to defy (according to his description) the military coup.

5 July: "Friday of Rejection"

Muslim Brotherhood members and sympathizers rallied across Egypt for what they dubbed a "Friday of Rejection" on 5 July, demanding the reinstatement of Morsi as president. Clashes with police and soldiers turned deadly in some areas, with reported instances of troops firing live ammunition into crowds of protesters. At least 36 were killed and more than 1,000 were injured. Protesters reportedly attacked a police station and military airbase in the North Sinai Governorate, as well as the governorate headquarters, resulting in casualties on both sides.

Palestinian officials in Gaza also said that the Egyptian Armed Forces had shut the Rafah border crossing and that only certain people, such as patients and students, would be allowed through. Egyptian Intelligence Service official Nader al-Asar telephoned Palestinian Prime Minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh on the afternoon of 5 July and Haniyeh briefed him about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as a result of the restrictions on tunnels and the Rafah crossing.

Leaders from the protest movement Tamarod and the National Salvation Front urged demonstrators to "protect their revolutionary legitimacy" and resist unnamed "foreign forces" and supporters of Morsi who might stage a "counter-revolution" in Egypt. Police also announced the arrest of Khairat El-Shater, a figure in the Muslim Brotherhood.

6 July

Mohamed ElBaradei was reportedly appointed prime minister by acting President Mansour, over the objections of Islamists. The announcement of ElBaradei's appointment was later retracted, with a spokesman for the president saying no decision had been made on whether ElBaradei or somebody else would be named prime minister. Ahmed Douma, a dissident jailed for "insulting" President Morsi and inciting violence against the Muslim Brotherhood during protests earlier in the year, was released from custody pending a court verdict. Meanwhile, clashes continued on the Sinai Peninsula, with a Coptic Christian priest shot to death by masked gunmen. Pro-Morsi supporters continued their sit-in in front of the Rabia Al-Adawiya Mosque in Nasr City, a suburb of Cairo, demanding the reinstatement of the former president.

7 July

Negotiations continued over the prime ministerial appointment, with reports suggesting the Al-Nour Party had objected to ElBaradei's appointment and representatives of the Tamarod movement continuing to push for it. Meanwhile, a message from Mohammed Badie appeared on the Muslim Brotherhood's Facebook page accusing coup leaders of "flagrant violations against the Egyptian people", those opposed to the rule of Morsi mobilized for another day of rallying in Tahrir Square. Huge demonstrations against the military coup, also occurred in manned makeshift roadblocks in Cairo and the Nasr City suburb in Cairo.

July 2013

8 July

According to the Forensic Medical Authority, at least 61 protesters were killed and more than 435 injured, in what was deemed a massacre by the Muslim Brotherhood and those opposed to the coup when police fired on their sit-in during dawn prayers. According to the army, "terrorists" tried to storm the compound, leading to the death of an officer. MP Mohamed Beltagy described the incident as a "massacre" during dawn prayers. After the incident, the Freedom and Justice Party, called for "the international community and international groups and all the free people of the world ointervene to stop further massacres ..and prevent a new Syria in the Arab world." At the same time, Morsi supporters were said by the military of having forced two soldiers, Samir Abdallah Ali and Azzam Hazem Ali, to make pro-Morsi statements on a loudspeaker and that one of them was "severely beaten up" and filmed while making the statements. However, an army official later said that they had "managed to escape their captors."

The Nour Party announced it would not participate in the political transition due to the "massacre", and former Muslim Brotherhood member, moderate Islamist, and 2012 presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh called for Mansour to resign. Meanwhile, Mansour issued a proposed timetable for elections to occur within six months.

Following reports that many fighters in Syria were returning in support of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt placed restrictions on Syrians entering the country and required them to obtain visas before entering the country.

9 July

Amnesty International urged the Egyptian government to probe the "massacre" of the previous day. The army continued to deny it used excessive force, claiming police and troops responded to aggression by armed protesters. Tamarod posted on Twitter that "Mansour's maneuvers will create a new dictatorship", rejecting the proposed election timetable. Mohamed ElBaradei and Hazem Al Beblawi were named vice president and prime minister for the interim government respectively by Mansour.

10 July

Ramadan began in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood again rejected overtures to participate in the transitional government. Arrest warrants were issued for Mohammed Badie and other top Muslim Brotherhood officials. The Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California at Berkeley reported that a State Department programme ostensibly to support democracy provided funds to activists and politicians for fomenting unrest in Egypt after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.

11 July

The United States formally placed financial aid to Egypt under review.

The Muslim Brotherhood vowed to continue its resistance to the military's ouster of Morsi. In a statement it disavowed itself from an assassination attempt against a senior army commander in the Sinai Peninsula on 10 July and said it adheres to peaceful measures. The statement also read: "We will continue our peaceful resistance to the bloody military coup against constitutional legitimacy. We trust that the peaceful and popular will of the people shall triumph over force and oppression."

Public prosecutor Hisham Barakat issued a temporary freeze on the assets of senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as senior members of the National Coalition for Supporting Legitimacy, pending investigations in ongoing cases related to events in al-Mokatam, al-Nahda square and the Republican Guards Club. The freeze affects the senior Muslim Brotherhood leaders Mohammed Badie, Khairat el-Shater, Mohamed Ezat, Mahi Ekef, Saad El-Katatni, Essam el-Erian and Mohamed Beltagy, as well as the politicians Essam Sultan, Assem Abdul Majed, Safwat Hegazy and Hazem Abu Ismail.

12–23 July

On 13 July, Egyptian prosecutors announced a criminal investigation of Morsi for "spying, inciting violence and ruining the economy". Two days later, General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi spoke on state television for the first time since the coup to defend the army's actions. Mohamed ElBaradei was also sworn in as interim vice president the same day, while the assets of 14 prominent Islamists, including Mohammed Badie, were frozen. At least three were also killed and 17 others were wounded in North Sinai when suspected militants fired rocket-propelled grenades at a worker bus.

The Muslim Brotherhood continued its call for more protests after Friday prayers. The protests were held in Cairo and Alexandria with two formations of fighter jets flying over both cities after noon prayers ended as well as military helicopters that flew low over roof tops in the city. Amongst the tens of thousands of protesters present, they chanted "Islamic, Islamic" in calling for an Islamic state.

On 22 July, protests in Cairo led to two deaths at a pro-Morsi rally as unknown gunmen opened fire on demonstrators. A bomb also killed a conscript and injured 15 at a police station in Mansoura. Morsi's family also accused the military of kidnapping him.

The United States called on Egypt's army to free deposed President Mohamed Morsi

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