Supporters of Egypt’s ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on Monday morning marched to a military facility in Cairo, in defiance of an army warning early Monday. The marchers appear to be risking—if not outright seeking—a new confrontation with the army, after at least 72 protesters were shot dead over the weekend, NBC reported.
The Muslim Brotherhood announced the destination of the march was the military intelligence headquarters. The army warning ordered protesters to steer clear of military installations.
A Reuters reporter saw several thousand marchers leaving a mosque in northern Cairo, where they had been staging a weeks-long vigil to demand the reinstatement of Morsi.
The military intelligence building is located a few miles from the site of the vigil. The marchers carried pictures of the deposed president, flashing victory signs and chanting, “Our blood and souls we sacrifice for Morsi.”
On Friday, an investigating judge ordered Morsi’s detention over his alleged contacts with the terrorist organization Hamas, which helped him escape from prison in 2011, before the toppling of President Mubarak, AP reported.
General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the overthrow of Morsi, made an appearance on Sunday after the killings, smiling before television cameras at a graduation ceremony for police recruits dressed in starched white uniforms, NBC reported.
He received a standing ovation and was hailed by Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim as “Egypt’s devoted son.”
