By Charlie Miller
The Anti-Coup Coalition announced further marches on Sunday from a number of locations around Cairo.
The marches were scheduled to depart at 4pm from Old Cairo, Helwan Gardens, Nasr City and Downtown in the Cairo governorate and converge at the sit-in at Rabaa Al-Adaweya.
One march from Sayeda Zeinab to Rabaa Al-Adaweya was attacked as it passed through Sayeda Zeinab, with a number of injuries reported.
The injured marchers were taken to field hospitals and some demonstrators continued to the Rabaa sit-in, said Mahmoud Ziad, member of the Anti-Coup Coalition Youth Movement. He added he was unsure as to the nature of the injuries.
A women’s-only march took place Galaa Square in Dokki.
Marches were also planned in the Giza governorate, and were scheduled to leave from Lebanon Square in Mohandessin, Remaya Square in Dokki and Juhayna Square in 6th of October City, according to a statement released on Saturday. The Giza marches were scheduled to leave for Al-Nahda Square at 7pm.
The latest set of marches come after an uneasy night in Rabaa Al-Adaweya, which has been placed on high alert following a statement by the Ministry of the Interior on 1 August in which the Ministry announced its intention to “bring an end” to the sit-ins.
On Saturday night, the electricity was cut in Rabaa Al-Adaweya, sparking fears by some in the sit-in that a clearing by security forces was imminent. The power was restored using generators a short while later, Al-Jazeera announced. There was no evidence of any incursion by security forces during the power outage.
On Sunday afternoon Gehad El-Haddad, spokesman of the Muslim Brotherhood, announced on his twitter account that the power as well as satellite feed had been cut, resulting in a “high alert” at Rabaa.
Rabaa’s state of readiness has come in the form of reinforced barriers on Nasr Road, where demonstrators used thousands of concrete paving slabs to build defensive positions complete with sandbags. On Yousef Abbas Street, demonstrators laid concrete berms in the street.
In addition to the anti-vehicle defences, many of Rabaa’s uniformed “guards” have been issued nunchucks alongside their wooden sticks and batons.
