New pro-Morsi sit-ins grow in Maadi and Mohandiseen

After the violent dispersal of the Rabea al-Adaweya and Nahda sit-ins this morning, hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters are finding new protest zones throughout Cairo, most notably in front of Mostafa Mahmoud Square in Mohandiseen and Midan Suares in Maadi.

According to a Mada Masr reporter near Midan Suares, unrest in the area sparked at about noon when supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi set tires on fire near the Maadi Grand Mall, on a major street leading into the square.

By 6 pm, Brotherhood supporters began a sit-in in Midan Suares, where around 500 to 600 people continued to gather through the evening, marking the third sit-in in this location since the start of Ramadan.

Mostafa al-Khatib, who was on the media committee for the Rabea sit-in, said the protesters intend to continue nationwide protests after all the deaths sustained in their ranks today.

“We are going to defy everything they say about the curfew and anything else. It has never happened before in Egypt that thousands were killed and the prime minister did not even mourn them,” he said.

Khatib said that the main gathering point now for pro-Morsi protesters is Mostafa Mahmoud Square in Mohandiseen, where a sit-in is currently being staged after violent confrontations with automatic weapons occurred there this morning.

He said there is another gathering in front of Imam Mosque in Makram Ebeid.

Khatib claimed that the army is currently transporting the bodies of those killed during the dispersal of the Nahda Square and Rabea al-Adaweya sit-ins today. The Health Ministry puts the death toll at 235, but the Brotherhood claims that is it in the thousands.

Meanwhile, on state TV Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim acknowledged the Brotherhood’s attempt to stage a sit-in at Mostafa Mahmoud Square, but said a nationwide curfew has been imposed and certain measures will be taken to enforce it.