Army deployed to help police secure Jan. 25 celebrations: statement

CAIRO - 23 January 2019: Egyptian Defense Ministry affirmed cooperating with police forces to secure the January 25 celebrations which mark the national Police Day, saying that joint patrols will deploy to deal with any attempt to break the law.

In a statement published on the Defense Ministry's YouTube channel on Tuesday, the ministry said the field armies have been fully prepared to deploy and help secure citizens and vital institutions.

"Special Forces' elements have prepared a number of combat groups to assist the tactical formations in securing the celebrations; that is in addition to the rapid intervention units, which act as close reserves to back the protection elements in dealing with various hostile [acts]," the statement read.

Vigilance measures have been taken to secure the waterway of the Suez Canal and prevent infiltration and smuggling attempts "in all the strategic directions of the state," the statement continued.



The reason January 25 is Police Day in Egypt dates back to 1952 when 50 policemen were killed and 80 were wounded in Ismailia by the British colonization. The massacre was the spark of the revolution that ended the monarchy in Egypt on July 23 of the same year.

After the 1952 Revolution, January 25 has been celebrated as Police Day and has become an official holiday. In 2011, the day witnessed a revolution as well.

Millions of Egyptians took to the streets in the January 25 Revolution that lasted over 18 days in 2011. Their motto was “Bread, Freedom, and Social Justice”. Only patriotic slogans were chanted without mentioning any parties or ideological slogans.

The date marking the historic uprising, which protested police brutality, coincides with the Police Day. The protests were organized by the “We are all Khaled Said” Facebook page named after a torture victim in Alexandria. Said was beaten to death in the street by policemen on June 6, 2010 for allegedly possessing drugs.

On the Friday of Fury, January 28, 2011, the crowds started to chant “the people want to overthrow the regime” until former President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak resigned on February 11 of the same year. The protests resulted in clashes that broke out between security forces and protesters, leading to casualties in both sides.

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Additional reporting by Noha El Tawil