Muslim Brotherhood Schedules October 6 for Counter-Coup against Egyptian Army
Egypt’s ousted Muslim Brotherhood is planning to launch a counter-revolution against its ousters starting Sunday October 6, the 40th anniversary of the last war against Israel.
Its aim is to topple Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, the Egyptian army and the judiciary, and so put an end to the concerted campaign to eradicate the Brotherhood, they have been waging for four months since the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi as president of Egypt on July 3.
Monday, Sept. 23, the Cairo Court for Urgent Affairs put the lid on the Brotherhood’s political and financial life with an injunction dissolving the movement and impounding its assets. The ruling effectively shut down the Brotherhood temporarily until a superior court convenes at a date still not determined and issues a permanent verdict.
This ruling further fired the Brotherhood’s resolve to go forward on Oct. 6 with the plans to rally the masses against the military-ruled government, as detailed exclusively here by DEBKA Weekly’s intelligence and Middle East sources:
1. Millions of Egyptians have received orders through secret channels of communications, including mosques and religious seminaries, to suddenly surge out onto the streets en masse on the appointed day.
2. Those orders went out to outlying rural towns and villages, where army uniforms are thin on the ground.
It was decided not to include in the campaign the big Egyptian cities, like Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Ismailia, where heavy army and internal security forces are concentrated.
Unaided by the military, Egypt’s internal security troops are barely up to scratch and, in small places, local police forces are mostly under the thumbs of Muslim Brotherhood bosses.
On Oct. 1, the Brotherhood tested the feasibility of a second front in Cairo to stiffen the outlying rallies across the country, by staging an experimental pro-Morsi disturbance in Cairo’s emblematic Tahrir Square. The outbreak was quickly dispersed by a large military force and the Brotherhood forced to reconsider.
Brotherhood to impugn the army’s patriotism
3. The Islamists chose October 6 to demonstrate their people power because it marked the day when a Muslim army succeeded in crossing the Suez Canal and confronting Israel to recover Sinai. Their slogans and chants will contrast the Egyptian army of 40 years ago, when Muslim soldiers fought the infidel army, and the Egyptian army of today, which they accuse of fighting its own people.
4. The Muslim Brotherhood has decentralized its organs and activities. Up until now, every protest and slogan required the approval of the central leadership in Cairo. For the day of protest, the leaders have devolved authority on local headquarters in cities, towns and villages.
Each is authorized to enlist manpower, compose the motifs for rallies, dictate the content of speeches and write slogans in tune with local conditions. This gives the local activists exceptional license. They have the further advantage of their identities being unknown to the security and intelligence agencies, which enables them to function without fear of arrest.
This stratagem was borrowed from the Tamarod movement, which rose up against President Morsi, six months ago. This movement, whose leaders were unknown, was still able to draw masses to Cairo for a grassroots campaign which finally brought down the Brotherhood president.
5. The October 6 rallies are but starters of raging movement planned to swell across the country. It will first seize control of outlying locations from the security forces. When that is accomplished, the Brotherhood will move onto the next stage of its counter-coup, the gradual displacement of military and security control of the big cities.
Sinai campaign cuts Brotherhood off from reinforcements
6. Defense Minister Gen. El-Sisi, fully informed of the Brotherhood’s plans, has put three counter-measures in place, according to DEBKA Weekly’s military sources.
a) Monday, Sept. 30, he pinned down the Brotherhood’s armed allies, by launching an all-out offensive against fighting Salafists and al Qaeda networks barricaded in the central Sinai mountain range of Jabal Al-Halal.
The Egyptian army had hitherto stayed clear of this forbidding Islamist terrorist citadel. However it was now vitally important to bottle them up in the peninsula and prevent them heading across Suez and reaching Egyptian cities to reinforce the Brotherhood’s counter-revolt.
b) Security was tightened at the country’s border terminals, airports and seaports against arrivals from other Arab countries. The Gulf emirates security authorities are cooperating with Cairo to bar travel to Egypt for the time being.
Egypt’s tourism minister Hesham Zazou, speaking at an economic conference on Tuesday October 1, said a campaign to bring Iranian visitors to Egypt will remain suspended out of national security considerations.
c) All arms of the Egyptian military including the Air Force and Navy or on a state of alert. Egypt’s domestic security service and police are fully mobilized. The security service is 370,000 strong and outnumbers the Egyptian army.
