Egypt Pro-Democracy Supporters Stage Anti-Sisi Protests

Backers of ousted president Mohamed Morsi staged morning rallies in several Egyptian provinces on Friday against a presidential bid by former army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.



Pro-democracy supporters staged several protests in the Giza province, west of Cairo, amid anti-Sisi chants.



Protesters also waved banners bearing the images of Morsi and flashed the Rabaa sign in memory of hundreds of pro-Morsi demonstrators killed when security forces violently cleared their protest camps in Cairo in mid-August.



Similar rallies were staged in several provinces, including the Nile Delta province of Sharqiya, the birthplace of Morsi.



Supporters of the ousted president also organized two human chains in the coastal city of Alexandria against what they describe as the "military coup" against Morsi.



Al-Sisi, who is seen as the main architect of Morsi's ouster by the military last summer, quit as Egypt's defense minister and announced his bid to run for Egypt's upcoming presidential election on May 26-27.



On Thursday, the National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, Morsi's main support bloc, called for a fresh week of demonstrations against Morsi's overthrow.



Egypt has been dogged by instability since the army unseated Morsi, the country's first freely elected president, last July following massive protests against his administration.



Pro-democracy protesters have been staging almost daily rallies ever since.



englishnews@aa.com.tr - Kahire