EGYPT-METRO/TAHRIR STATION REOPENS Egypt reopens Tahrir Square metro station after two-year closure

Record ID: 151640

  • Title: EGYPT-METRO/TAHRIR STATION REOPENS Egypt reopens Tahrir Square metro station after two-year closure
  • Date: 17th June 2015
  • Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (RECENT) (REUTERS) TOP SHOT OF TAHRIR SQUARE TRAFFIC AT TAHRIR SQUARE CAIRO, EGYPT (JUNE 17, 2015) (REUTERS) PEOPLE GETTING INTO METRO STATION AT TAHRIR SQUARE VARIOUS OF SECURITY OFFICIALS VARIOUS OF PASSENGERS PUTTING TICKET TRAIN ARRIVING SIGN READING STATION'S NAME (Arabic): "ANWAR AL SADAT" SIGN READING (English): "SADAT" (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DOCTOR, SAME
  • Embargoed: 2nd July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVACWGTOIWQL5IV1CAI2YGA023KF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Egypt reopened a major downtown Cairo metro station on Wednesday (June 17) after a two-year closure, signalling government confidence in the security situation.
    Located below Tahrir Square, a symbol of the popular uprising that toppled veteran leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011, Sadat metro station is one of only two stations linking the network's two main lines.
    Authorities shut the station in August 2013 when hundreds of supporters of former Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, ousted by the army after mass protests against his rule, were shot dead at two Cairo protest camps and thousands more rounded up.
    Egypt has defended its actions against protesters, saying they were given opportunities to disperse peacefully, and blamed Muslim Brotherhood for the violence.
    The station opened to little fanfare early on Wednesday with a large security presence.
    Metal detectors, surveillance cameras, baggage screening x-ray machines and half a dozen policemen greeted commuters at the station's entrances, not all of which were in operation.
    Policemen were posted at turnstiles, checking tickets manually. A row of plain-clothed policemen brandishing assault rifles and uniformed conscripts also stood guard inside the station. Policemen manned each side of the platform.
    Passengers welcomed the reopening. One man said it conveyed a positive message about Egypt.
    "Of course, the Tahrir station reopening is a comforting message to all Egyptian people, investors and people of the world, telling them that there is stability and a complete control over the security situation. Also there is control over organisation in Egyptian streets," said doctor Samuel Aziz.
    Another man said the station would ease the congestion.
    "If I was coming from Shubra Al Kheima going to Giza, I had to get off at Shohadaa station and also vice versa. With those coming from different lines such as those from Helwan or Marg station, it used to create unbelievable congestion for one station," said lawyer Magdi Alkilany.
    Militants have stepped up attacks since Mursi's ouster. While most of the worst attacks have hit the Sinai Peninsula, the focus of an insurgency, smaller blasts have become increasingly common in Cairo and other cities.
    A suicide bomber blew himself up near the ancient Karnak Temple in the southern city of Luxor in June, wounding four Egyptians.
    The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood has called for a "popular uprising" to be held on Friday (June 19) after a court sentenced Mursi and other Brotherhood leaders to death on Tuesday (June 16).
    But with thousands of Islamists jailed, it is unlikely that Friday will see a big turnout.
    Authorities say the Brotherhood is a threat to national security; the group says it is committed to peaceful activism.
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