CAIRO - Egypt’s government announced Thursday it once again shortened a nighttime curfew put in place more than two months ago in much of the country over unrest after the ouster of the country’s president.
Meanwhile, a Muslim man wounded in a widely denounced attack on a wedding party outside a Cairo church died Thursday, raising the death toll in Sunday’s attack to five.
The Cabinet said in a statement the curfew now will be four hours a night, from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., six days a week. On Fridays, the Cabinet said the curfew will remain 10 hours, starting at 7 p.m.
Fridays are the start of the weekend in Egypt and have been days of major protests since its 2011 uprising. Now, supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsitake to the streets in rallies Friday that often descend into clashes.
The curfew, effective in a number of cities including the capital, Cairo, was announced along with a nationwide state of emergency in mid-August. It came after a government crackdown on pro-Morsi sitins in the capital that killed hundreds and unleashed a wave of violence.
Those attacks include Sunday’s assault by masked gunmen on a Coptic Christian church holding a wedding in the Cairo district of Warraq. An Interior Ministry statement issued Thursday said a fifth victim, a Muslim man, had died of the wounds he suffered from the shooting.
He was the only Muslim killed in the attack, in which motorcycle-riding gunmen sprayed the wedding party outside the Church of the Virgin Mary with bullets.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 10/25/2013