Violence erupts in Cairo; military replaces governors

Sarah Lynch | Special for USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Raw: Clashes erupt between Cairo protesters Clashes in Cairo erupted between supporters and opponents of ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi. (Aug. 13)

Police fired tear gas as clashes erupted with pro-Morsi supporters

Interim President Adly Mansour appointed new governors%2C including seven from the military

Violence came a day after Egypt%27s military-backed leadership postponed a plan to besiege two protest camps

CAIRO — Tens of thousands of supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi continued to fortify their sit-ins Tuesday as police clashed with some opponents of a military-led government that replaced Egypt's governors with military appointees.

Outside the sit-ins, police fired tear gas during rallies by hundreds of supporters of Egypt's former Islamist president in front of government buildings in the heart of Cairo.

Security officials and witnesses say the fighting broke out when the Muslim Brotherhood, which is demanding that Morsi be reinstated, tried to break into the Interior Ministry where they said members are being held. Morsi was thrown out of office July 3 by the military.

Protesters threw rocks at police trying to stop them, prompting the tear gas. Local residents joined security forces and threw rocks at the Brotherhood supporters.

The violence came a day after Egypt's military-backed leadership postponed a plan to besiege two protest camps occupied by Morsi's supporters to avoid bloodshed.

At a sit-in outside the Rabaa Al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo's Nasr City, pro-Morsi protesters dug in, protected by a set of walls made from piled sandbags and pavement stones. More protesters flowed in despite the summer heat, chanting for Morsi's reinstatement, carrying Egyptian flags and tooting horns that echoed throughout the sit-in.

"We will continue protesting here and in other places until we restore democracy, our freedom," said Nasser Ahmed, 49, surrounded by smoke from the grill of a kebab vendor at the camp's main entrance. "We will stay in the streets until we restore Morsi as president."

Egypt's interim president swore in 20 new provincial governors on Tuesday, removing all Muslim Brotherhood members appointed by Morsi.

Seven of the new governors appointed by interim President Adly Mansour are from the military. Two took up posts in the Mediterranean cities of Port Said and Alexandria, where clashes between pro and anti-Morsi protesters have been violent.

A third was given the ancient city of Luxor, a major tourist destination. Morsi's appointment of a member of the political arm of ex-Islamist terrorist group Gamaa Islamiya to be governor of Luxor had sparked particular controversy.

The group had claimed responsibility for a 1997 massacre outside Luxor in which 58 tourists and four Egyptians were killed at the Temple of Hatshepsut.

Contributing: The Associated Press





