{Egypt said on Thursday police had uncovered a stash of weapons that supporters of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood were plotting to use ahead of planned protests against deteriorating economic conditions.}<\/p>\n
A little-known group calling itself Movement of the Poor called in recent months for Egyptians to protest on Nov. 11 against rising prices and deepening austerity.<\/p>\n
The call gained traction on social media after Egypt floated its pound and raised fuel prices last week, a move hailed by bankers but bemoaned by ordinary people as the latest blow to their dwindling spending power.<\/p>\n
But the Movement of the Poor said on its Facebook page on Wednesday it canceled the protests due to a police crackdown.<\/p>\n
Having won little support from activist groups, it was unclear if protests would go ahead on Friday. But in a country where street politics helped unseat two presidents within two years, authorities are taking no chances. Dozens of people were detained in recent weeks for allegedly inciting unrest.<\/p>\n
The Interior Ministry said on Thursday it confiscated a cache of arms and ammunition hidden in a graveyard and house in Fayoum province, southwest of Cairo.<\/p>\n
It also said it raided five bomb factories around the country on Wednesday, accusing a militant group of coordinating with the Brotherhood to attack police checkpoints on the eve of the protests.<\/p>\n
“The armed wing of the Muslim Brotherhood intended to use the weapons in terrorist attacks as they take advantage of economic conditions to incite protests,” it said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The Brotherhood, Egypt’s oldest political movement, says it is peaceful and denies having an armed wing.<\/p>\n
Gone is the 2011 heyday of street politics, when Egyptians camped in Tahrir Square to end Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule. When Egyptians took to the streets again in 2013 to end a year of divisive Brotherhood rule, they looked to general-turned-president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to restore stability.<\/p>\n
But Sisi quickly crushed dissent and applied a protest law so strictly that few dare to come out, despite rising discontent. Sisi deems the Brotherhood a terrorist organization.<\/p>\n
Sisi has urged Egyptians in recent weeks not to protest and warned there would be no going back on economic reforms.<\/p>\n
Stung by street revolts that have made life worse rather than better, many said they would stay home on Friday.<\/p>\n
“Poor people who do not want to ruin the country will not protest. They want to build the country, not destroy it,” said Fatma Yasser, a pensioner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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