(AFP File Photo)
By Tim Nanns and Nourhan Fahmy
Following the assassination of Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat on Monday, security forces are on high alert ahead of the anniversary of the 30 June mass protests.
The Minister of Interior presented a provisional security plan to the presidency, whereby the ministry has stepped up the security presence surrounding vital facilities and public institutions. Various means of public transportation and the metro will also see a higher security presence, according to a presidency statement.
Security forces are planned to spread out across governorates, with the armed forces taking part in the security preparations.
A representative from the interior ministry told Daily News Egypt that a state of mourning has been declared following Barakat’s assassination, and thus new security measures are expected to surface. However, the envisioned plan is not entirely clear yet.
A broad alliance of 13 groups called on people to take to the streets on 30 June, the anniversary of a popular uprising that eventually ousted former president Mohamed Morsi, to protest “against the military coup”.
Among them are the Istiqlal Party, as well as ‘Women against the Coup’ and the ‘Movement of Azharis against the Coup’.
A Monday press statement by the alliance condemns the “killing of the rights of the Egyptian people”. It also stated that “the January revolution was not only held by the people for their living but for freedom and human dignity”, and vowed not to “rest until we achieve the goals of the January revolution”.
Meanwhile in Sohag, the Security Directorate declared a state of security alert for police stations as well as vital institutions for the 30 June anniversary, Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm reported Monday.
Major General Ibrahim Saber, the security director, said the police have been fitted out with heavy weaponry and given instructions to deal with any possible threat or attack.
In Minya, the security forces announced that they thwarted an attempted attack on “police and government facilities and in particular Abu Qurqas police station and the main court on 30 June”, according to various media reports.
The police arrested eight and claimed to have found a pistol looted from a police station in August 2013, as well as “leaflets from the Muslim Brotherhood” along with speeches by its Supreme Guide, Mohammed Badie.
