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In Pictures: Memories of the Rabaa massacre

Human rights groups have condemned the 2013 killings of anti-coup protesters in Cairo as ‘a crime against humanity’.

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The protest camp was set up in one of Cairo's most well-known squares in Nasr City. More tents were put up every day.
By Al Jazeera
Published On 14 Aug 2014

Cairo, Egypt – After massive protests calling for President Mohamed Morsi to step down, the Egyptian military announced the ouster of Egypt’s first democratically-elected president on July 3, 2013. The protests – staged in Tahrir Square one year after Morsi was sworn into office – called for early presidential elections, with protesters accusing the president of failing to achieve his electoral promises. 

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s most popular political group at the time, called for counter-protests at Rabaa al-Adawiya and al-Nahda squares. Rabaa Square is the site of a well-known mosque in Cairo’s Nasr City district and one of the most vital areas of the capital. The protests developed into a large-scale sit-in against the military coup.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), approximately 85,000 protesters joined the sit-in, which extended for over 45 days and grew larger and more organised with time. Protesters slept, ate, prayed, and lived at the square. Many hoped the sit-in would succeed in pressuring the military to restore Morsi to the presidency.

As time passed, supporters of the military across the city grew frustrated with the defiant sit-ins. Calls to disperse them came from both largely pro-military private and state-owned media outlets. The military-backed government officially ordered the dispersal of Rabaa and al-Nahda on August 14, 2013.

In the early hours that day, armoured vehicles, bulldozers, and hundreds of security forces moved in. Over the span of 24 hours, at least 1,000 protesters were killed, according to HRW. The human rights group labelled the incident “one of the world’s largest killings of demonstrators in a single day in recent history” and accused security forces of committing a “crime against humanity”. From the Rabaa protest alone, thousands were injured, and over 800 people were arrested.

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As of yet, no police officer or Egyptian official has been investigated or prosecuted for the killings that day, although HRW alleges that the crackdown was planned at the highest level of the country’s interim government and military. 

The following images recount the events of July and August 2013 in Cairo.

Protesters gathered in Rabaa Square, many of them vowing not to leave until Mohamed Morsi was reinstated as president.
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The reaction in Rabaa to the military's ousting of Morsi was one of shock and anger. Many hoped the sit-in would succeed in pressuring the military.
Over 90 protesters were killed on July 27, 2013, during one of the first crackdowns by Egyptian security forces.
Anti-coup protesters carried out religious services, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, when night prayers were held en masse.
Female protesters, together with their families, were present throughout the sit-in. At least two dozen women were killed during the security forces dispersal operations on August 14.
Following the July 27 clashes, protesters carried empty coffins representing those killed that day.
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The Rabaa sit-in was the longest, and most organised, mass demonstration after the 2011 Egyptian uprising. People slept, ate, played, and prayed at the square.
The Muslim Brotherhood's spokesperson, Gehad El-Haddad, continuously gave interviews to both local and foreign journalists throughout the sit-in.
The dispersal operation in Rabaa al-Adawiya on August 14 began with security forces firing tear gas, but quickly escalated to live ammunition being fired.
Human Rights Watch identified over a dozen senior Egyptian leaders it said should be investigated for their roles in the protesters deaths.
Makeshift morgues were set up to receive the bodies. HRW has now called on foreign governments to cut military assistance to Egypt, in light of the ongoing abuses and severe political repression.
Human rights groups found that, with the exception of a few protesters who returned fire that day, the sit-in was largely unarmed. The majority carried only rocks and molotov cocktails, and were banging on metal pots.
On August 15, a fire broke out in Rabaa. Dead bodies were transferred to the nearby Iman mosque, where relatives of those who were killed went to search for their loved ones.