Downtown walls about to come down, claims MOI

The last concrete walls blocking downtown’s streets are about to come down, the state-owned news site EgyNews said on Monday.

Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim ordered the removal of the walls to ease traffic congestion, according to the site.

One wall separates Tahrir Square from the major thoroughfare of Qasr al-Aini, close to the Cabinet headquarters and Shura Council Building, while the other blocks Falaki Street off from Mohamed Mahmoud Street.

Walls have sprung up around downtown’s streets since the battle of Mohamed Mahmoud in November 2011 as the ministry sought to separate protesters and police forces. More walls were then built to prevent protesters from reaching vital state institutions in the downtown area, like the Cabinet, Shura Council or Interior Ministry.

Protesters succeeded in pulling parts of the walls down, only to have the ministry put them back up again. Rights groups had filed lawsuits against the government to remove the walls, which cause severe traffic problems in downtown and prevent access to important government buildings.

Activists painted graffiti on the walls demanding the government remove them, decrying the blockades as the state’s attempt to limit the freedom of movement in public space.