Who is leading the egyptian protesters

In September , dozens of protests led by apolitical civilians demanded the fall of the regime and more economic reforms in favour of the masses.

Thousands were arrested in a matter of two months. Kareem Sayed, 37, a construction engineer who participated in the revolution, predicts that effective dissent will take place through the action of angry masses driven by social and economic reasons, not by political objectives. Despite growing poverty — In the posh streets of the Zamalek district of Cairo, Salma, 34, a dentist turned graphic designer who participated in the 18 days of the revolution, asserts that the revolution has been overrun.

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Give yourself a headstart: Get full access to The Africa Report on all your devices. Subscribe now. Most of its losses in the 1 November local government elections have been in metros, where it retained outright control of only two out of the eight - all of which were under ANC control following the first local government elections in The last president of South Africa under its apartheid system, Frederik Willem de Klerk, has died at the age of 85 following a battle with cancer.

Although he leaves behind a mixed legacy, he and Nelson Mandela were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work in ending the apartheid regime and steering the country onto the path towards democracy. Many were later handed death sentences or lengthy prison terms at mass trials that activists said violated fundamental due process rights.

In January , Gen Sisi was promoted to field marshal, Egypt's highest army rank, and received the military's blessing for a presidential run. Two months later, he announced his retirement from the military and launched his election campaign. Under the slogan "Long Live Egypt", he outlined an ambitious plan to develop agriculture, housing, education and impoverished areas and boost employment.

On his plans to combat poverty, he pledged that Egyptians would see a better standard of living within two years. He called on the private and public sectors to help the poor by opting for "lower profit margins", otherwise the army itself would offer high quality goods at lower prices.

However, the standard of living for many in Egypt actually declined during President Sisi's first term in office.

The devaluation of Egypt's currency in and the withdrawal of fuel and other subsidies to meet the terms of a deal with the International Monetary Fund IMF affected Egyptians' spending power. The government said its actions were necessary to attract investment and help restore the economy, which suffered considerably with the drop in tourism that followed the revolution.

But many questioned whether the money for those and other projects could have been better used improving infrastructure and public services at a time when many Egyptians were struggling to make ends meet. One of President Sisi's biggest challenges has been the security situation in the Sinai Peninsula, which borders Gaza and Israel and is home to Egypt's most active jihadist militants.

Although the army launched a security offensive in Sinai shortly after Morsi was ousted, the situation continued to deteriorate, with one local jihadist group pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group in The group, known as Sinai Province, has mainly attacked military targets.

But it also claimed it was behind the downing of a Russian passenger jet over the Sinai peninsula in October , killing all people on board. In late , the president launched a new military campaign against militants killed more than people in a bomb and gun attack on a mosque in northern Sinai.

The atmosphere surrounding the presidential election was very different from the fervour of previous elections. Opposition groups called for a boycott and human rights groups described the vote as "farcical" after three other contenders dropped out and another, a former military chief, was arrested.

The following year, controversial constitutional amendments were passed following a referendum. The new laws, which Human Rights Watch said would "consolidate authoritarian rule", extended presidential limits and meant that Mr Sisi would be able to remain in power until Now 42 and a practicing psychiatrist, she says most of her companions are in detention or exile and those who remain are trying to survive the trauma of the past decade.

Toma says she still meets people who profess attachment to the uprising and its goals. Seeds are there and you find them in the strangest of places. Lawyer Tarek el-Khouly blames the Brotherhood for undermining the uprising by seeking to impose Islamic rule. Security measures post were needed to prevent militant attacks, and those jailed for social media posts were inciting crimes, he said. Tens of thousands of civil society organisations are allowed to operate in Egypt, he added, praising government efforts to improve living conditions and saying parliament was gaining strength as an expression of popular will.

Security forces led by the military continue to brutalize civilians in North Sinai in its conflict with Sinai Province, an armed group affiliated with the extremist group Islamic State ISIS. The army and pro-government militias carried out serious abuses, including demolishing homes and arbitrarily arresting, torturing, and extrajudicially executing residents. ISIS militants also committed horrific violations, including kidnappings, torture, and killings of residents and detained security force members.

Under the guise of fighting terrorism, Egyptian authorities showed utter disregard for the rule of law. Since April , President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has maintained a nation-wide state of emergency that gives security forces unchecked powers. Security forces used torture and enforced disappearances systematically against dissidents from all backgrounds.

In August, President al-Sisi approved a new law that maintains most of the drastic restrictions imposed on nongovernmental organizations NGOs. Despite several government promises to lift restrictions, the law merely removes prison penalties but maintains severe restrictions that make it impossible for NGOs to work freely and independently.

The government failed to follow through on promises it had made to protect women and religious minorities. A law criminalizing domestic violence did not gain traction in parliament, and Christians still face discrimination and obstacles when it comes to building new churches. The police and National Security Agency routinely carry out systematic enforced disappearances and torture with impunity. Authorities keep thousands of prisoners in abysmal conditions, where overcrowding and insufficient medical care have been systematic and may have contributed to the deteriorating health and deaths of scores of detainees.

Former President Mohamed Morsy, whom the army forcibly removed in , died on June 17 in a Cairo court room following six years of lack of medical care and near-absolute isolation in prison. Egyptian security forces, mainly the army, as well as ISIS-affiliated militants, committed serious and widespread abuses in North Sinai, some of which amount to war crimes, since the conflict escalated in late Human Rights Watch documented several indiscriminate and possibly unlawful air and ground attacks by security forces.

Human Rights Watch also documented 50 cases of arbitrary arrests, of whom 39 were likely forcibly disappeared; at least 14 have been missing for three or four years. Both sides carried out extrajudicial killings. Since , Human Rights Watch has documented 20 extrajudicial killings of residents by government forces. The army has arrested and forcibly disappeared children as young as