Egyptian security forces clashed with hundreds of protesters in the port city of Suez on Saturday, firing tear gas and live rounds, said several residents who participated in the demonstrations.
A heavy security presence was also maintained in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the epicenter of Egypt’s 2011 revolution, after protests in several cities called for the removal of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Such demonstrations are rare after Egypt effectively banned protests under a law passed following the 2013 military ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi.
But discontent over rising prices has been swelling in Egypt, where Sisi’s government has imposed strict austerity measures since 2016 as part of a 12-billion-U.S.-dollar loan package from the International Monetary Fund.
Nearly one in three Egyptians live below the poverty line on less than 1.40 U.S. dollars a day, according to official figures released in July.
On Saturday, protesters headed to downtown Suez for the second night in a row, where they were met by security forces barricading the streets and armored vehicles.
“There were about 200 or so people. They (security forces) fired tear gas, rubber and live bullets and there were injuries,” a man who took part in the demonstration but declined to be named told AFP.
Another resident, who also preferred to remain anonymous, said the tear gas was so thick it had reached her apartment block a few kilometers away from the turbulent downtown area.
“My nose started burning up. The smell was seeping through the balcony. I also saw some youth run and hide in our street,” the woman said.
On late Friday, hundreds of Egyptians poured through the streets of Cairo, chanting slogans including “Leave, Sisi!” and demanding the “fall of the regime.”
At least 74 people were arrested after clashes between the crowds and police in the capital, a security source told AFP.
The protests came after Mohamed Aly, an exiled businessman and opponent of Sisi, posted calls online for demonstrations against Sisi.
He upped the pressure on Saturday in an expletive-filled video, imploring Egyptians to join a “million-man march” next Friday and to fill all “major squares” of the country.
“I think it’s safe to say that the events of the past few weeks, including the development last night, pose the most serious legitimacy crisis facing Sisi,” Nael Shama, a Cairo-based political analyst, told AFP.
On social media thousands shared footage of Friday’s demonstrations, which sprang up in several cities, including sizable crowds blocking traffic in Alexandria, Al-Mahalla, Damietta, Mansoura and Suez.
“This is the first time people take to the streets in many years but I am not sure it will be the last,” Shama added.
