JOIN USActivists called for a day of strikes in Egypt on Saturday to mark exactly a year since they toppled Hosni Mubarak, leaving an increasingly unpopular and defiant military in charge.
The call for strikes in universities and work places comes after a series of protests pressuring the military to transfer power immediately to civilians, rather than wait for planned presidential elections later this year.
Students from Egypt’s main universities began protests in the morning and others were expected to head to the iconic Tahrir Square — epicentre of the protests that toppled Mubarak.
“I’m on strike because of the dire situation in the country. There is no difference between the military council and Hosni Mubarak’s rule. We want them to leave now,” said angry Mahmud Magdy from outside Cairo’s Ain Shams University.
The military, headed by Mubarak’s long-time defence minister Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, has said that it will deploy additional troops across the country in response to the call for a day of disobedience.