Violence continues after Morsi ouster

Scattered incidents of violence took place on Wednesday night following the military’s announcement that Islamist President Mohamed Morsi had been removed from office.

Pro-Morsi protesters near Cairo University allegedly destroyed cars and fired bird shot right after the statement aired, reported the state-run newspaper Al-Ahram.

Also in Cairo, activists accused a group of Brotherhood supporters of storming the streets of the Alf Maskan neighborhood in East Cairo on Wednesday night, destroying cars and blocking a main road.

Violence also broke on Wednesday evening in the Delga village in Minya Governorate after a group of pro-Morsi supporters allegedly attacked a building affiliated with a Coptic church, local media reported.

Priests from the church told security forces that people took to the village’s streets after the military's statement was aired. The priests said that the pro-Morsi protesters then stormed the building, setting parts of it on fire and stealing some items, after they failed to reach the church itself. Minya has been the site of several incidents of sectarian violence in recent years. 

In Fayoum, unknown assailants allegedly attacked the headquarters of the Freedom and Justice Party, the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm, state-run MENA news agency reported. The attackers reportedly stormed the offices, firing bird shot and stealing several items, said the agency. Forty-five people were said to be injured in the incident.

Al-Ahram also reported violence on Thursday at a Muslim Brotherhood rally in Alexandria marking the funeral of Amr Soheil — a pro-Morsi protester who had been killed in earlier clashes — as angry MB members allegedly attacked media trying to cover the protest.

Fears of the potential militarization of Islamists have risen sharply following Morsi’s abrupt fall from power, but several parties have also voiced fears of violent reprisals from the opposition targeted at Islamists. Calls for the political inclusion of Islamist parties have been made by different political players, including the newly instated interim President Adly Mansour.