10th anniversary of bloodiest day in Egypt's modern history. Know what happened

It was one of the bloodiest days in Egypt’s modern history. On August 14, 2013, more than 900 unarmed people sitting on a protest demonstration were killed when the military opened fire on them. Most of them were supporters of former president Mohamed Morsi, who was deposed in a military coup.

Darkest day in Egypt’s modern history

It was the day when the army and police swooped down upon thousands of people holding peaceful sit-in demonstrations in Cairo’s Nahda Square and Rabaa Adawiya Square. The supporters of Mohamed Morsi were demanding to reinstate the ousted president.


Muslim Brotherhood won the general election in 2013 and Morsi was elected president, but the army staged a coup and deposed him.

Human Rights groups: darkest days in Egypt's modern history

Earlier too, the Mosi supporters clashed with the police and faced a military crackdown. It was the third crackdown by the army that was supporting the government of Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al Sisi. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said that it was the largest killing of people on a single day and described it as the "darkest of days in Egypt's modern history".

Amnesty International

Middle East and North Africa Research Director for Amnesty International, Philip Luther, told Sky News that it was a turning point in Egypt’s modern history after which the government adopted the policy of zero tolerance to any sort of dissent.

Cameraman killed

Besides the protesters, Sky News cameraman Mick Deane was also killed when a sniper bullet hit his chest as he was filming the protesting women reading the Koran, the holy book of Islam.

Arab Spring

The protest against autocratic rulers of the Middle East broke out first in 2010 in Tunisia and soon engulfed the entire reason in what is called Arab Spring. It also reached Egypt soon and thousands of people came out on the streets. Morsi was elected president in these circumstances.

FAQs:

Q1. Why did the army open fire on protesting people in Cairo?
A1. The people were holding sit-in demonstrations and they were demanding to reinstate deposed president Mohamed Morsi when the army opened fire on them. The army was supporting the government of Feild Marshal Mohammad Fatah al Sisi.

Q2. Why is it called the darkest day in Egypt’s modern history?
A2. It is called the darkest day in Egypt’s modern history because more than 900 unarmed people were killed in Cairo in one day.