Egypt’s Nighttime Chaos Gives Rise to ‘Bizarre No Man’s Land’
A policeman takes position during clashes with supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi inside a room of al-Fath mosque in Cairo August 17, 2013. Supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi exchanged gunfire with security forces inside a Cairo mosque on Saturday, three Reuters witnesses said. The gunmen opened fire on security forces from a second floor window in the Fath mosque, where hundreds of Mursi supporters have been taking refuge since protests turned violent on Friday. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (EGYPT – Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION) – RTX12OO2
After several days of deadly violence, Egypt seems to be coming alive again with pedestrians filling streets in the country's main cities during daylight hours.
"The night is really becoming a very dangerous and chaotic scene here in Cairo," Kirkpatrick says. "The streets are deserted of unarmed civilians but populated with a mix of army and police checkpoints and self-appointed vigilante groups, some of which rob passersby and may themselves be armed."
Kirkpatrick notes another sign of Egypt's current tumult: Today, the lawyer for the former dictator Hosni Mubarak says his client could be released by the end of the week.
An Egyptian court ruled that Mubarak could no longer be held on a corruption charge involving embezzled funds for presidential palaces.
Kirkpatrick says it's too early to say whether Mubarak will be a free man anytime soon.
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.