The aftermath of the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état (known by some media outlets as Egyptian Crisis) is the period following the 3 July 2013 removal of President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt by the Egyptian Armed Forces amid popular demonstrations against Morsi's rule. In the aftermath of Morsi's ouster, many protesters amassed near the Rabia Al-Adawiya Mosque
to call for Morsi's return to power and condemn the military, while
others demonstrated in support of the military and interim government.
Deadly clashes erupted on several days, with two particularly bloody
incidents being described by Muslim Brotherhood officials as "massacres" perpetrated by security forces.
Vice President Omar Suleiman, who announced Mubarak's resignation in February 2011, handed power to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Egypt came under martial law as top generals led by Mohamed Hussein Tantawi began directing Egypt toward democratic elections. This period was marked by further conflict and continuing protests, as demonstrators who had cheered the support of the military in removing Mubarak turned against the generals when they began imposing harsh security measures and tamping down on revolutionary activity. The Muslim Brotherhood emerged as a leading voice in criticizing military rule.
An Islamist-dominated parliament was elected in late 2011 and early 2012. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces dissolved the body in June 2012, saying many of the elections were illegitimate.
Morsi reinstated parliament days after his election, and lawmakers set to work drafting a constitution that established Islam as the state religion. The constitution was passed over the objections of opposition members who argued the process was faulty. When put to a referendum in December 2012, the constitution was approved by a nearly 28-point margin, as supporters successfully argued that approval of the constitution was needed to ensure stability.
However, Morsi's government faced popular protests after the president decreed in November 2012 that he had vast powers that could not be checked by the courts. Protesters called for Morsi to withdraw his constitutional declaration or resign from office. Within weeks, Morsi annulled the declaration, days before the constitution itself was approved by voters.
The Egyptian Armed Forces again sided with demonstrators against the regime, warning Morsi to respond to protesters' demands or face a "political road map" widely expected to involve the president's removal from office. Despite this, Morsi remained defiant, giving a speech on 2 July insisting he was the legitimate president and would sooner die than relinquish power. The next day, Defence Minister Abdul Fatah al-Sisi informed Morsi that he was no longer president and addressed the country on television to announce the change in leadership.
Violence continued with over 100 people wounded and at least two deaths, believed to be that of children. The Muslim Brotherhood's spokesman called for "strictly peaceful" protests to defy (according to his description) the military coup.
Palestinian officials in Gaza also said that the Egyptian Armed Forces had shut the Rafah border crossing and that only certain people, such as patients and students, would be allowed through. Egyptian Intelligence Service official Nader al-Asar telephoned Palestinian Prime Minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh on the afternoon of 5 July and Haniyeh briefed him about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as a result of the restrictions on tunnels and the Rafah crossing.
Leaders from the protest movement Tamarod and the National Salvation Front urged demonstrators to "protect their revolutionary legitimacy" and resist unnamed "foreign forces" and supporters of Morsi who might stage a "counter-revolution" in Egypt. Police also announced the arrest of Khairat El-Shater, a figure in the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Nour Party announced it would not participate in the political transition due to the "massacre", and former Muslim Brotherhood member, moderate Islamist, and 2012 presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh called for Mansour to resign. Meanwhile, Mansour issued a proposed timetable for elections to occur within six months.
Following reports that many fighters in Syria were returning in support of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt slapped restrictions on Syrians entering the country and required them to obtain visas before entering the country.
The Muslim Brotherhood vowed to continue its resistance to the military's ouster of Morsi. In a statement it disavowed itself from an assassination attempt against a senior army commander in the Sinai Peninsula on 10 July and said it adheres to peaceful measures. The statement also read: "We will continue our peaceful resistance to the bloody military coup against constitutional legitimacy. We trust that the peaceful and popular will of the people shall triumph over force and oppression."
Public prosecutor Hisham Barakat issued a temporary freeze on the assets of senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as senior members of the National Coalition for Supporting Legitimacy, pending investigations in ongoing cases related to events in al-Mokatam, al-Nahda square and the Republican Guards Club. The freeze affects the senior Muslim Brotherhood leaders Mohammed Badie, Khairat el-Shater, Mohamed Ezat, Mahi Ekef, Saad El-Katatni, Essam el-Erian and Mohamed Beltagy, as well as the politicians Essam Sultan, Assem Abdul Majed, Safwat Hegazy and Hazem Abu Ismail.
The Muslim Brotherhood continued its call for more protests after Friday prayers. The protests were held in Cairo and Alexandria with two formations of fighter jets flying over both cities after noon prayers ended as well as military helicopters that flew low over roof tops in the city. Amongst the tens of thousands of protesters present, they chanted "Islamic, Islamic" in calling for an Islamic state.
On 22 July, protests in Cairo led to two deaths at a pro-Morsi rally as unknown gunmen opened fire on demonstrators. A bomb also killed a conscript and injured 15 at a police station in Mansoura. Morsi's family also accused the military of kidnapping him.
The United States called on Egypt's army to free deposed President Mohamed Morsi, amid ongoing protests on the first Friday of Ramadan. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Joseph Burns, the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Egypt since Morsi's ouster, visited Cairo to meet with representatives of the interim government. Representatives from both Tamarod and the Nour Party refused to meet with Burns, with Tamarod accusing the U.S. of interfering with Egyptian internal affairs. The U.S. also delayed the delivery of F-16 Fighting Falcons from Fort Worth, Texas, to Egypt due to "political reasons."
During a speech at a military parade, General Al-Sisi called for mass demonstrations on 26 July to grant his forces a “mandate” to crack down on “terrorism”, an apparent reference to the bombing at Mansoura and to restive Islamists continuing to oppose the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi. This was seen as contradicting the military’s pledges to hand over power to civilians after removing Dr. Morsi and as an indication for an imminent crackdown against Islamists.
The reactions to Al-Sisi's announcement ranged from open support by the Egyptian presidency and the Tamarod movement to rejection, not only by the Muslim Brotherhood, who called the announcement "an invitation to civil war", but also by the Salafi Al-Nour Party, the Strong Egypt Party, the revolutionary April 6 Youth Movement and the Egyptian Human Rights groups.
In Sphinx Square in Mohandessin, a group of activists called The Third Square, who mistrust both the military and the Islamists, held their own protest. In a leaflet, they declared their opposition to “the defense minister calling for an authorization to kill Egyptians on the pretext of fighting terrorism".
In a separate development, Egyptian state media announced that deposed President Morsi was being investigated for conspiring with the Palestinian group Hamas in relation to a prison breakout in 2011.
Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said police had been forced to intervene after demonstrators clashed with locals while trying to block a major bridge. He claimed that police did not use live ammunition and attempted to disperse protesters with tear gas. However, multiple photos on the internet show clearly the police and army forces using live ammunition and automatic guns. Meanwhile, Al-Nour Party leader Younis Makhyoun called for a full investigation into the incident, which the Brotherhood described as a "massacre", and angry activists chanted violent slogans calling for Sisi to be executed during pro-Morsi protests during the day.
Two days later, the United States White House released a statement that read it "strongly condemns the bloodshed and violence" in Cairo and Alexandria, while calling on the military-backed interim government to respect the rights of demonstrators.
Background
Egypt in transition
Main article: 2011 Egyptian revolution
Protests against President Hosni Mubarak
in early 2011 led to his resignation and trial after the Egyptian
military switched its allegiance to the demonstrators. Mubarak's
downfall was only the second revolution in the Arab world of the revolutionary wave known as the Arab Spring.Vice President Omar Suleiman, who announced Mubarak's resignation in February 2011, handed power to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Egypt came under martial law as top generals led by Mohamed Hussein Tantawi began directing Egypt toward democratic elections. This period was marked by further conflict and continuing protests, as demonstrators who had cheered the support of the military in removing Mubarak turned against the generals when they began imposing harsh security measures and tamping down on revolutionary activity. The Muslim Brotherhood emerged as a leading voice in criticizing military rule.
An Islamist-dominated parliament was elected in late 2011 and early 2012. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces dissolved the body in June 2012, saying many of the elections were illegitimate.
Mohandessin
Main article: Egyptian presidential election, 2012
See also: Egyptian constitutional referendum, 2012
Presidential elections
were held in mid-2012. No candidate garnered as much as a quarter of
the vote in the first round of elections. The top two candidates
advanced to the runoff: Mohamed Morsi of the Freedom and Justice Party, the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood, and Ahmed Shafik, an independent candidate who served as prime minister of Egypt under Mubarak. Morsi strongly criticized the Mubarak regime and offered a vision for Egypt as an Islamic democracy, while Shafik, a secularist, promised to restore order.
Morsi ultimately prevailed in the runoff, defeating Shafik by a margin
of 3.5 percentage points. While Islamists hailed Morsi's election with
enthusiasm, many Copts and liberals viewed the runoff as a choice between two unappealing candidates.Morsi reinstated parliament days after his election, and lawmakers set to work drafting a constitution that established Islam as the state religion. The constitution was passed over the objections of opposition members who argued the process was faulty. When put to a referendum in December 2012, the constitution was approved by a nearly 28-point margin, as supporters successfully argued that approval of the constitution was needed to ensure stability.
However, Morsi's government faced popular protests after the president decreed in November 2012 that he had vast powers that could not be checked by the courts. Protesters called for Morsi to withdraw his constitutional declaration or resign from office. Within weeks, Morsi annulled the declaration, days before the constitution itself was approved by voters.
Coup d'état
Main article: 2013 Egyptian coup d'état
Protests against Morsi continued throughout the first half of 2013,
whipping up in June 2013 briefly after the president appointed an
Islamist accused of involvement in the Luxor massacre to head the Luxor Governorate
and culminating in mass demonstrations that began on 30 June.
Protesters criticized Morsi for alleged mismanagement of the country and
for the growing influence of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Tamarod movement, which translates into English as "Rebel", claimed it had gathered 22 million signatures from Egyptians opposed to Morsi.According to some sources, the protests were the largest in Egypt's history.The Egyptian Armed Forces again sided with demonstrators against the regime, warning Morsi to respond to protesters' demands or face a "political road map" widely expected to involve the president's removal from office. Despite this, Morsi remained defiant, giving a speech on 2 July insisting he was the legitimate president and would sooner die than relinquish power. The next day, Defence Minister Abdul Fatah al-Sisi informed Morsi that he was no longer president and addressed the country on television to announce the change in leadership.
Formation of a government
Indications on 6 July 2013 that Mohamed ElBaradei would be sworn in as prime minister proved to be incorrect. The next day, a founding member of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party named Ziad Bahaa El-Din was reportedly offered the post of Prime Minister, while ElBaradei was nominated as vice president Younes Makhioun, chairman of the Nour Party, objected to both appointments because both of them belong to the same political coalition (the National Salvation Front); he called for nominees who were "politically neutral" instead. The Nour Party rejected El-Din on 7 July 2013 and pulled out of the transitional process altogether on 8 July 2013 because of the 2013 Republican Guard Headquarters clashes. However, the party has advised the interim government on ministerial candidates, including Ahmed Darwish. Hazem Al Beblawi was sworn in as prime minister on 9 July 2013 with the backing of the Nour Party.Chronology
4 July
Adly Mansour, chief justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt, was sworn in as interim president. Mansour gave a speech in which he praised demonstrators for toppling the government, saying, "I offer my greetings to the revolutionary people of Egypt."Violence continued with over 100 people wounded and at least two deaths, believed to be that of children. The Muslim Brotherhood's spokesman called for "strictly peaceful" protests to defy (according to his description) the military coup.
5 July: "Friday of Rejection"
Muslim Brotherhood members and sympathizers rallied across Egypt for what they dubbed a "Friday of Rejection" on 5 July, demanding the reinstatement of Morsi as president. Clashes with police and soldiers turned deadly in some areas, with reported instances of troops firing live ammunition into crowds of protesters. At least 36 were killed and more than 1,000 were injured. Protesters reportedly attacked a police station and military airbase in the North Sinai Governorate, as well as the governorate headquarters, resulting in casualties on both sides.Palestinian officials in Gaza also said that the Egyptian Armed Forces had shut the Rafah border crossing and that only certain people, such as patients and students, would be allowed through. Egyptian Intelligence Service official Nader al-Asar telephoned Palestinian Prime Minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh on the afternoon of 5 July and Haniyeh briefed him about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as a result of the restrictions on tunnels and the Rafah crossing.
Leaders from the protest movement Tamarod and the National Salvation Front urged demonstrators to "protect their revolutionary legitimacy" and resist unnamed "foreign forces" and supporters of Morsi who might stage a "counter-revolution" in Egypt. Police also announced the arrest of Khairat El-Shater, a figure in the Muslim Brotherhood.
6 July
Mohamed ElBaradei was reportedly appointed prime minister by acting President Mansour, over the objections of Islamists. The announcement of ElBaradei's appointment was later retracted, with a spokesman for the president saying no decision had been made on whether ElBaradei or somebody else would be named prime minister. Ahmed Douma, a dissident jailed for "insulting" President Morsi and inciting violence against the Muslim Brotherhood during protests earlier in the year, was released from custody pending a court verdict. Meanwhile, clashes continued on the Sinai Peninsula, with a Coptic Christian priest shot to death by masked gunmen. Pro-Morsi supporters continued their sit-in in front of the Rabia Al-Adawiya Mosque in Nasr City, a suburb of Cairo, demanding the reinstatement of the former president.7 July
Negotiations continued over the prime ministerial appointment, with reports suggesting the Al-Nour Party had objected to ElBaradei's appointment and representatives of the Tamarod movement continuing to push for it. Meanwhile, a message from Mohammed Badie appeared on the Muslim Brotherhood's Facebook page accusing coup leaders of "flagrant violations against the Egyptian people", those opposed to the rule of Morsi mobilized for another day of rallying in Tahrir Square. Huge demonstrations against the military coup, also occurred in manned makeshift roadblocks in Cairo and the Nasr City suburb in Cairo.8 July
Main article: 2013 Republican Guard headquarters clashes
Muslim Brotherhood sources alleged 54 pro-Morsi demonstrators were killed when police fired on their sit-in during dawn prayers.According to the army, "terrorists" tried to storm the compound, leading to the death of an officer. MP Mohamed Beltagy
described the incident as a "massacre" during dawn prayers. After the
incident, the Freedom and Justice Party, called for "the international
community and international groups and all the free people of the world
[to] intervene to stop further massacres [...] and prevent a new Syria
in the Arab world."
At the same time, Morsi supporters were said by the military of having
forced two soldiers, Samir Abdallah Ali and Azzam Hazem Ali, to make
pro-Morsi statements on a loudspeaker and that one of them was "severely
beaten up" and filmed while making the statements. However, an army
official later said that they had "managed to escape their captors."The Nour Party announced it would not participate in the political transition due to the "massacre", and former Muslim Brotherhood member, moderate Islamist, and 2012 presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh called for Mansour to resign. Meanwhile, Mansour issued a proposed timetable for elections to occur within six months.
Following reports that many fighters in Syria were returning in support of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt slapped restrictions on Syrians entering the country and required them to obtain visas before entering the country.
9 July
Amnesty International urged the Egyptian government to probe the "massacre" of the previous day. The army continued to deny it used excessive force, claiming police and troops responded to aggression by armed protesters. Tamarod posted on Twitter that "Mansour's maneuvers will create a new dictatorship", rejecting the proposed election timetable. Mohamed ElBaradei and Hazem El Beblawy were named vice president and prime minister for the interim government respectively by Mansour.10 July
Ramadan began in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood again rejected overtures to participate in the transitional government. Arrest warrants were issued for Mohammed Badie and other top Muslim Brotherhood officials. The Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California at Berkeley reported that a State Department programme ostensibly to support democracy provided funds to activists and politicians for fomenting unrest in Egypt after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.11 July
The United States formally placed financial aid to Egypt under review.The Muslim Brotherhood vowed to continue its resistance to the military's ouster of Morsi. In a statement it disavowed itself from an assassination attempt against a senior army commander in the Sinai Peninsula on 10 July and said it adheres to peaceful measures. The statement also read: "We will continue our peaceful resistance to the bloody military coup against constitutional legitimacy. We trust that the peaceful and popular will of the people shall triumph over force and oppression."
Public prosecutor Hisham Barakat issued a temporary freeze on the assets of senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as senior members of the National Coalition for Supporting Legitimacy, pending investigations in ongoing cases related to events in al-Mokatam, al-Nahda square and the Republican Guards Club. The freeze affects the senior Muslim Brotherhood leaders Mohammed Badie, Khairat el-Shater, Mohamed Ezat, Mahi Ekef, Saad El-Katatni, Essam el-Erian and Mohamed Beltagy, as well as the politicians Essam Sultan, Assem Abdul Majed, Safwat Hegazy and Hazem Abu Ismail.
12-23 July
On 13 July, Egyptian prosecutors announced a criminal investigation of Morsi for "spying, inciting violence and ruining the economy". Two days later, General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi spoke on state television for the first time since the coup to defend the army's actions. Mohamed ElBaradei was also sworn in as interim vice president the same day, while the assets of 14 prominent Islamists,[who?] including Mohammed Badie, were frozen. At least three were also killed and 17 others were wounded in North Sinai when suspected militants fired rocket-propelled grenades at a worker bus.The Muslim Brotherhood continued its call for more protests after Friday prayers. The protests were held in Cairo and Alexandria with two formations of fighter jets flying over both cities after noon prayers ended as well as military helicopters that flew low over roof tops in the city. Amongst the tens of thousands of protesters present, they chanted "Islamic, Islamic" in calling for an Islamic state.
On 22 July, protests in Cairo led to two deaths at a pro-Morsi rally as unknown gunmen opened fire on demonstrators. A bomb also killed a conscript and injured 15 at a police station in Mansoura. Morsi's family also accused the military of kidnapping him.
The United States called on Egypt's army to free deposed President Mohamed Morsi, amid ongoing protests on the first Friday of Ramadan. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Joseph Burns, the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Egypt since Morsi's ouster, visited Cairo to meet with representatives of the interim government. Representatives from both Tamarod and the Nour Party refused to meet with Burns, with Tamarod accusing the U.S. of interfering with Egyptian internal affairs. The U.S. also delayed the delivery of F-16 Fighting Falcons from Fort Worth, Texas, to Egypt due to "political reasons."
24 July
A bomb exploded at a police station in the Egyptian city of Mansoura, the capital of the Dakahlia Governorate, killing at least one person and injuring 17.During a speech at a military parade, General Al-Sisi called for mass demonstrations on 26 July to grant his forces a “mandate” to crack down on “terrorism”, an apparent reference to the bombing at Mansoura and to restive Islamists continuing to oppose the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi. This was seen as contradicting the military’s pledges to hand over power to civilians after removing Dr. Morsi and as an indication for an imminent crackdown against Islamists.
The reactions to Al-Sisi's announcement ranged from open support by the Egyptian presidency and the Tamarod movement to rejection, not only by the Muslim Brotherhood, who called the announcement "an invitation to civil war", but also by the Salafi Al-Nour Party, the Strong Egypt Party, the revolutionary April 6 Youth Movement and the Egyptian Human Rights groups.
26 July
In response to the call by General Al-Sisi, hundreds of thousands took part in demonstrations including tens of thousands in Cairo's Tahrir Square and at the Presidential Palace in support of the army. At the same time, thousands of demonstrators rallied in Nasr City and at Cairo University in protest at the military coup.While the demonstrations in Cairo were largely peaceful, five people including a 14-year old boy were killed and at least 146 injured in Alexandria, when a pro-army march passed near a demonstration of Morsi supporters at Al-Qaed Ibrahim Mosque. The Health Ministry confirmed a total of nine people killed during protests in Alexandria.In Sphinx Square in Mohandessin, a group of activists called The Third Square, who mistrust both the military and the Islamists, held their own protest. In a leaflet, they declared their opposition to “the defense minister calling for an authorization to kill Egyptians on the pretext of fighting terrorism".
In a separate development, Egyptian state media announced that deposed President Morsi was being investigated for conspiring with the Palestinian group Hamas in relation to a prison breakout in 2011.
27 July
82 were killed early in the morning after security forces opened fire on pro-Morsi demonstrators on a road near the Rabia Al-Adawiya Mosque, a centre of resistance to the military coup. The health ministry said 82 were confirmed dead and 299 injured, while doctors at the field hospital said at least 200 protesters had been killed and 4,500 injured. A Brotherhood spokesman said police used live ammunition and shot to kill.Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said police had been forced to intervene after demonstrators clashed with locals while trying to block a major bridge. He claimed that police did not use live ammunition and attempted to disperse protesters with tear gas. However, multiple photos on the internet show clearly the police and army forces using live ammunition and automatic guns. Meanwhile, Al-Nour Party leader Younis Makhyoun called for a full investigation into the incident, which the Brotherhood described as a "massacre", and angry activists chanted violent slogans calling for Sisi to be executed during pro-Morsi protests during the day.
Two days later, the United States White House released a statement that read it "strongly condemns the bloodshed and violence" in Cairo and Alexandria, while calling on the military-backed interim government to respect the rights of demonstrators.
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