Tanks deploy to Egypt's presidential palace amid lull in deadly protests
The deployment of Egyptian tanks marks the first time since Mohamed Morsi's power grab that the military has gotten involved.
The deployment of Egyptian tanks marks the first time since Mohamed Morsi's power grab that the military has gotten involved.
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After a night of violent protests across Egypt that left at least five dead and hundreds injured, Egyptian tanks deployed this morning to protect the presidential palace, marking the first time since Mohamed Morsi's power grab that the military has gotten involved.
Reuters reports that at least seven tanks and 10 armored personnel carriers from the Republican Guard, the military unit tasked with protecting the government organs, now surround the palace. The Republican Guard is ordering all demonstrators to leave the palace environs. The unit's commander,聽Gen. Mohamed Zaki, told the state news agency that聽"The armed forces, and at the forefront of them the Republican Guard, will not be used as a tool to oppress the demonstrators."聽
Reuters notes that small numbers of protesters against and supporters of President Morsi remain in the area around the palace, but have largely been limited to shouting at each other from afar.
The lull stands in sharp contrast to last night, when thousands of Egyptians from both sides took to the streets and engaged in violent clashes, resulting in several deaths 鈥� Agence France-Presse reports that five people were killed, while Reuters puts the toll at seven 鈥撀燼nd hundreds of injuries. The Monitor reported last night that protesters and supporters clashed with rocks, firebombs, and the occasional gun around the palace, in a conflict that both sides see as an extension of the Tahrir Square protests last year that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.
The Monitor noted that Essam al-Arian, head of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, last night on Al Jazeera called the protests 鈥渢he last battle of the revolution against the counterrevolution.鈥�
A presidential aide told AFP that Morsi would address the current crisis in a speech later today, though no time was given. But as the Monitor's Dan Murphy wrote last night, there have been no indications from Morsi or the Brotherhood that they are backing down from plans to hold a referendum on the rushed, Islamist constitution on Dec. 15.