1986 Egyptian conscripts riot

1986 mutiny in Cairo, Egypt 1986 Egyptian conscripts riot 300px Tanks in Cairo during the 1986 riots 25 – 28 February 1986 Cairo, Egypt Government victory Egypt Egypt Egyptian Armed Forces 20px Egyptian Air Force 20px Central Security Forces Egypt Hosni Mubarak20px Ahmed ShafikZaki BadrAhmed Rushdi Safwat El-SherifZakaria AzmiRifaat El-Mahgoub the Cold War and the Arab Cold War On 25 February 1986, around 25,000 conscripts of the Central Security Forces (CSF), a paramilitary force in Egypt, launched a mutiny in Cairo and the surrounding area. They staged violent protests as a reaction to the rumour that their three-year compulsory service would be prolonged by one additional year without any additional benefits or promotion in rank, targeting tourist areas, the United States Embassy Compound, and destroying two hotels. The regime of Hosni Mubarak relied on the Egyptian Armed Forces to crush the ill-equipped CSF mutineers, and the military was sent in to restore order.H.Frisch, Guns and butter in the Egyptian Army, p.6. Middle East Review of International Affairs, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Summer 2001). The Egyptian Army deployed tanks, armoured personnel carriers and commando snipers against the rebelling conscripts, most of whom were unarmed or armed only with shields, batons, and assault rifles. The Egyptian Air Force and Army Aviation used Mil Mi-8 helicopters and Mig-21 fighter jets to attack the rebelling conscripts near Giza and in Upper Egypt. At least four to five helicopters, and three fighter jets, were used in the operation. The Air Force officer in command of the operation was Ahmed Shafik, as commander of all MiG-21 fleets in the Central Military Zone. The riot lasted for three days before it was suppressed. According to official reports, the mutiny resulted in 107 deaths, mostly CSF personnel, with 1324 arrested.Europa Publications Limited, The Middle East & North Africa, Volume 50: p.303 Over 20,000 conscripts were dismissed from service with no benefits, and the agitators received correctional punishment after being tried before State Security Court for arson, violent riots, and insubordination according to penal code. Some reports related that mutiny to a conspiracy against the Minister of Interior in charge by then, Ahmed Rushdi, due to his policies. The Mubarak government promised to overhaul the CSF by raising its entry standards, increasing payment and improving living conditions in their camps.http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+eg0176%29 Archived copy 2014-12-27 2013-03-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20130317173911/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+eg0176%29 dead Background The Central Security Forces had ballooned in size, from 189 officers and 11,690 soldiers in 1969, to over 100,000 by the end of the 1970s, effectively an 'interior ministry-run army', used as a counterbalance against potential coups from other sectors, and to brutally suppress popular dissent. Conscripts were intentionally chosen from poor, rural areas, with low literacy or knowledge of political affairs preferred. Conscripts were mistreated by their officers, paid very little, ill-fed and frequently assaulted or even tortured. Thus the conditions were ripe for a mutiny, and the spread of rumors of an extra year's service indeed led to full-scale rebellion.Elhamalawy Hossam Counterrevolution in Egypt: Sisi's new republic 2026 Verso 978-1-80429-761-2 London New York See also Egyptian Revolution of 2011 1977 Egyptian bread riots List of modern conflicts in the Middle East References Further reading Lesch Ann 12 March 1986 Mutiny in Cairo https://www.merip.org/1986/03/mutiny-in-cairo/ MERIP March/April 1986 139 Egypt Category:1986 in Egypt Category:1986 riots Category:Arab rebellions Egypt Category:Republic of Egypt Category:Riots and civil disorder in Egypt Category:February 1986 in Africa Category:20th-century political riots Category:1980s in Cairo Category:Military history of Cairo Category:Attacks on diplomatic missions in Egypt Category:Attacks on diplomatic missions of the United States Category:Attacks on hotels in Egypt Category:Mass murders in Cairo Category:20th-century mass murders in Egypt Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in 1986 Category:Mutinies Category:Tank warfare by conflict Category:History of the tank Category:Airstrikes conducted by Egypt Category:Airstrikes in Egypt Category:Helicopter attacks Category:Military scandals Category:Government paramilitary forces of Egypt Category:1986 in military history Category:Political repression in Egypt