Protests in support of the armed forces took place on Friday in several Egyptian governorates. In Cairo's wealthy suburb of Maadi, hundreds marched to denounce Thursday's failed assassination attempt against Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim. Ibrahim survived a bomb attack targeting his convoy on Thursday in Cairo's Nasr City. On Friday, a civilian was reported to have died of wounds sustained in the blast; dozens of others were also injured in the attack, although Ibrahim was unharmed. Protesters in Maadi, who held posters of Ibrahim, also held posters of military chief and defence minister General Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. According to Al-Ahram Arabic website, protesters chanted slogans in support of both the police and the army and also chanted against “terrorism.” Maadi also witnessed a march of thousands by supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi. Friday's protests are the first to take place in support of the armed forces since millions converged to the streets on 26 July in response to public calls by El-Sisi for the Egyptian people to give the army a “mandate to fight terrorism.” A protest was also held in support of El-Sisi and the “30 June revolution” and in rejection of “violence and terrorism” in Al-Ghanaym in the Upper Egypt city of Assiut. Mass nationwide protests on 30 June led to the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi several days later by the military. At the Assiut protest there were minor scuffles between pro-military protesters and Morsi supporters marching nearby. Gamal Shawky, a leading member of the Nasserist Party in Al-Ghanaym, told Al-Ahram Arabic website that the protest came in response to false accusations by “some satellite television channel” that Al-Ghanaym was a stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood. “The sons of Al-Ghanaym were the first to revolt against Brotherhood rule,” added Shawky. A demonstration in support of the military also took place in Al-Arbaeen square in Suez, but the protest was dispersed by supporters of the deposed president who forced military supporters to leave and tore down their banners, reported Al-Ahram. Friday has also seen numerous demonstrations by Morsi supporters around the country, and clashes at the protests have left two pro-Morsi protesters dead in Damietta and Alexandria. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/80962.aspx
