Anxiety spreads in Egypt's Giza after security raid

CAIRO

Life came to a standstill in the Giza town of Kerdasa on Thursday following a joint army/police operation aimed at hunting down what Egyptian authorities describe as "militants and terrorists."

The town's streets were deserted following warnings by security forces to residents to stay indoors.

Power was cut and mobile phone services were jammed, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent at the scene.

"We feel we're being punished for our opposition to the military coup [against elected president Mohamed Morsi] and for an earlier attack on the Kerdasa police station by unidentified individuals," town resident Khaled Mohamaden told AA.

Home to an estimated 450,000 inhabitants, Kerdasa has seen daily rallies in support of Morsi since the latter's July 3 ouster by the military.

Pro-democracy Egyptians accuse security forces of attacking their towns and villages in an effort to "break their will" – a claim dismissed by authorities, which say they are hunting down those involved in "criminal acts."

Last month, militants attacked the Kerdasa police station, lynching 11 security personnel in the process. The attack came after security forces had violently dispersed two pro-democracy protest camps in Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya Square and Giza's Nahda Square.

The police station was abandoned after the attack, and police were not allowed into the area.

At the time, local media had blamed the attack on pro-democracy demonstrators.

Locals, however, dismiss these claims, saying that leading Muslim Brotherhood members and Morsi backers had been at the two pro-democracy sit-ins in Cairo at the time of the attack.

"We are peaceful people; we had nothing to do with the police station attack," Mohamaden said. "Security forces can arrest the perpetrators, but we shouldn't be punished in the process."

Early on Thursday, Egyptian army and police forces stormed Kerdasa, the largest town in the Giza province.

The Interior Ministry says the raid aims to arrest "those involved in the attack on the Kerdasa police station."

The ministry insisted that security forces "don't hunt down peaceful residents."

Meanwhile, a state of anxiety prevailed in the nearby village of Nahya, where residents anticipate a similar operation.  

Security forces have already deployed in some areas of the village to hunt down "wanted" elements, but have yet to lock down the village entirely.

Security forces had raided the homes of some Nahya residents, according to an AA correspondent at the scene.

As of early Thursday afternoon, electricity, water and internet service in the village were all working as usual.

Reporting by Hazem Badr

englishnews@aa.com.tr