Hundreds of Egyptians on Wednesday held candles, waved pictures of slain protesters and demanded retribution from former generals while marking the second anniversary of the killing of 26 people, mostly Christians, in a military crackdown.
But participants in the solemn vigil were divided about criticising the military over the deaths, a sign of shifting attitudes since the army's ouster of President Mohamed Morsi in July.
The more belligerent chanted "down with military rule", and some even called for the execution of former army chief Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, hoisting aloft pictures of him and other now-retired generals they blame for the deaths. One laid a picture of Tantawi on the street for cars to drive over it.
Other demonstrators rejected the anti-military chants, describing the army as a savior for its overthrow of Morsi after demonstrations demanding his resignation.
After the vigil ended, a few participants marched toward Tahrir Square chanting against the military. They were blocked from the square by security forces, who dispersed them with tear gas.
The "Maspero Massacre", named after the state TV building where armoured vehicles rolled over bodies of Christian protesters and gunned down others on October 9, 2011, was one of the worst incidents of state-perpetrated violence during the military-led transition. Back then, Coptic Christians, who compose nearly 10% of Egypt's 90 million majority Muslim population, were protesting a major lack of security after Mubarak's fall. [AP]