Cairo : Egypt marks October 1973 war with Israel , the day has been celebrated with pomp every year since Egypt launched the surprise war, in tandem with Syria, to regain territory which the Arab states lost to Israel in the devastating 1967 Six-Day War.
It was on this day 30 years ago
when fighter jets at a military parade distracted president Anwar Sadat as an
Islamist army officer who opposed the peace treaty sprinted up to the stand and
shot him dead.
Former air force chief and vice
president Hosni Mubarak took over power. Under his rule, Egyptians never warmed
to Israel.
This year the anniversary came
as the military, in power since a popular revolt ousted Mubarak in February,
finds itself under growing fire from activists and political parties demanding
a clear transition to civilian rule. Activists also accuse
soldiers of torturing detainees and stifling the press.
