One man in the crowd, however, was able to reach over the soldiers and strike a detained protester with a stick. Others chanted against Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group. The scene encapsulated the venomous mood in Cairo. The streets of Egypt's capital have become a deadly battleground between Morsi's supporters and backers of the military that overthrew him. The crisis has severed friendships and, in some cases, turned neighbor against neighbor in the city of more than 18 million people.
More than 450 people have been killed in Cairo over the past four days, just over half the country's nationwide death toll during the week of violence. Hundreds of those victims died when Egyptian security forces attacked two pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo on Wednesday. How events play out in Cairo could largely determine whether Egypt can step back from the brink of chaos. Over the weekend, street battles raged throughout the metropolis, once a stable corner of the Middle East. Armed civilians and security forces fought armed Morsi supporters and protesters. People openly fired automatic rifles and pistols at one another on main overpasses and roads. Most residents cowered in their homes, many staying clear of windows and balconies.
Metro stations near protest sites are closed, and military tanks enforce an army-imposed state of emergency that grants security forces broad powers to make arrests. Residents have locked entrances to their apartment buildings, and police stations and prisons have come under attack. The city, normally bustling at all hours of the day and night, now slips into an eerie quiet interrupted at times by gunfire during an 11-hour curfew that starts at 7 p.m. The usually gridlocked streets are devoid of nighttime traffic. Vigilantes and police dressed in civilian clothes stand at makeshift roadblocks, frisking people without identifying themselves. Many brandish guns. The Interior Ministry warned civilians Sunday against breaking the curfew to man checkpoints.
Some grocery stores are running low on merchandise, with bread cleared from the shelves and residents stocking up on water and canned food. Banks opened for just three hours Sunday after being closed for four days. Others cannot see friends and family who live on opposite ends of the city because marches and protests have made road conditions unpredictable. For taxi driver Ahmed Hosni, the blocked roads, violence and curfew have choked his income. He spends his nights instead at a civilian checkpoint in the poor neighborhood of Basateen. Hosni had voted for Morsi, but a year later joined the calls for his ouster. He also took part in mass protests last month in support of military action against "potential terrorism" by the Brotherhood. He said he was upset by the bloodshed that followed. "We are living off what we have in the coming days," said the 31-year-old, who provides for his mother and siblings. "God is with us all these coming days."
More Egyptian capital becomes battle zone amid crisis
