Egyptian police have stormed al Azhar University campus in the Capital Cairo to disperse students protesting against the candidacy of Field Marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Police used tear gas to disperse student protesters joining a rally dubbed Together Towards Salvation.
Initial reports say at least one student protester was killed and several others severally injured during the violent clashes.
Protesters were attacked after they gathered to denounce the presidential candidacy of former defense minister El-Sisi, who has recently announced his resignation in a bid to run for the country’s presidency.
El-Sisi was appointed as the general commander of the armed forces and defense minister by ousted President Mohamed Morsi back in 2012.
However, the field marshal helped overthrow the country’s first democratically-elected president last year.
State institutions and media are all geared toward Sisi’s candidacy, a situation which undermines the chances of a fair competition for any other candidate.
However, Egypt’s political parties and figures have repeatedly called on the country’s army to stay out of politics.
This is while el-Sisi has handpicked 10,000 Egyptian commando fighters from the various army units to form a special airborne force.
The special airborne force, equipped with air transport and helicopters, is capable of reaching all parts of Egypt and its operations can be accompanied with tanks, self-propelled artillery and counter-terror measures.
The developments come as anti-government demonstrators have been holding rallies almost on a daily basis since the army toppled president Morsi. The demonstrators demand Morsi to be reinstated.
According to a UK-based rights group, Amnesty International, 1,400 people have been killed in the political violence since Morsi’s ouster in July last year, “most of them due to excessive force used by security forces.”
The UN Human Rights Council recently expressed concern over the Egyptian security forces’ heavy-handed crackdown and the killing of peaceful anti-government protesters.
JR/PR
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