Egyptian police quashed a few small protests across the country on Friday and arrested hundreds of protesters as calls for an uprising against rising prices largely went unheeded.
Police rounded up at least 325 protesters across the country, a security official said.
In Cairo, where police had deployed in force in anticipation of protests, 70 alleged demonstrators were arrested.
Photo: AP
Police also quickly scattered several dozen protesters who assembled in the port city of Suez.
There had been calls on social media, backed by the banned Muslim Brotherhood opposition group, for protests on Friday against rising prices and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.
Ahead of Friday, the Egyptian Ministry of the Interior had announced the arrests of alleged Muslim Brotherhood members planning violence on the day.
Unlicensed protests had been banned in Egypt after the military overthrew former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 and cracked down on his followers.
Meanwhile, a Muslim militant insurgency has killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers and also targeted tourists, further battering the country’s economy.
After months of a US dollar crunch that caused a slump in imports, Egypt last week floated the pound, drastically depreciating its value.
Inflation, now at about 14 percent, is expected to rise.
The government said the move, part of an austerity program in tandem with a US$12 billion IMF loan, could no longer be postponed.
The IMF approved the three-year loan on Friday, and said it would release US$2.75 billion immediately, with further disbursements dependent on economic performance and the implementation of reforms.
Previous Egyptian governments had been wary of austerity measures, fearing they could spark unrest.
However, many in the nation are weary after years of tumult in which the country saw two presidents deposed, and have little appetite for more protests.
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