Egyptian security forces have blocked access to Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the highly symbolic focal point of the 2011 revolution, as part of a wide-ranging crackdown aimed at heading off planned protests against the president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Road closures around Tahrir Square on Friday. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Pro-Sisi supporters in Nasser City, Cairo, on Friday. Egypt’s attorney general said late on Thursday that 1000 people had been detained and questioned in relation to last weekend’s protests. Ali’s corruption claims spoke to deep discontent among many Egyptians, living in a country where 32.5% of people live below the poverty line, according to the government’s own estimates.

Source: The Guardian September 27, 2019 13:13 UTC