Developing: Pakistani Plane Escorted by UK Fighter Jets — 2 Men Arrested

Listen to the Buck Sexton Show Live on TheBlaze Radio

World

‘We Are the Black Bloc’: Anarchist Group That You May Remember From ‘Occupy’ Protests Rears Its Head in Egypt

Jan. 28, 2013 6:30pm
Anarchist Group That You May Remember From Occupy Protests Rears Its Head in Egypt

A masked Egyptian protester part of the Black Bloc, flashes the victory sign during clashes with riot police, background, near Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. An unpredictable new element has entered Egypt s wave of political unrest, a mysterious group of black-masked young men calling themselves the Black Bloc. They present themselves as the defenders of protesters against the rule of President Mohammed Morsi, but Islamists have used them to depict the opposition as a violent force wrecking the nation. Credit: AP

CAIRO (TheBlaze/AP) –Reminiscent of many protests by various “Occupy” groups in the United States, a mysterious group of masked young men called the “Black Bloc” emerged in Cairo on Monday and presented themselves as the defenders of protesters opposed to the Islamist president’s rule.

They boast that they’re willing to use force to fight back against Islamists who have attacked protesters in the past – or against police who crack down on demonstrations. The youths with faces hidden under black masks have appeared among stone-throwing protesters in clashes with police around Egypt the past five days in the wave of political violence that has shaken the country.

During protests in Cairo on Monday, masked youths celebrated around a police armored vehicle in flames in the middle of Tahrir Square, waving their hands in V-for-victory signs and wearing the Guy Fawkes masks that have become common at Occupy rallies and other left-leaning protests.

Their emergence has raised concerns even among fellow members of the opposition, who fear the group could spark Islamist retaliation or that it could be infiltrated to taint their movement. Islamist supporters of President Mohammed Morsi call the bloc a militia and have used it to depict the opposition as a violent force wrecking the nation.

Moreover, some Islamists have threatened to form vigilante groups in response, creating the potential for a spiral of violence between rival “militias.”

The bloc’s appearance comes amid increasing opposition frustration with Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president, and the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists who critics say have imposed a monopoly on power.

The anger has fueled the explosion of violence that at first centered on Friday’s second anniversary of the start of the uprising that ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak. It accelerated with riots in the Suez Canal city of Port Said by youths furious over death sentences issued by a court against local soccer fans over a bloody stadium riot a year ago. Morsi has struggled to regain control, calling a state of emergency in three Suez Canal-area provinces.

The Black Bloc in Egypt models itself after anarchist groups by the same name in Europe and the United States that have participated in anti-globalization and other protests the past decade.

Anarchist Group That You May Remember From Occupy Protests Rears Its Head in Egypt

A protester part of the Black Bloc, holds the Egyptian national flag during clashes with riot police near Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. An unpredictable new element has entered Egypt s wave of political unrest, a mysterious group of black-masked young men calling themselves the Black Bloc. Credit: AP

Anarchist Group That You May Remember From Occupy Protests Rears Its Head in Egypt

An Egyptian protester holds a sign reading ‘The Muslim Brotherhood’s constitution is void’ as other demonstrators, said to be members of Egypt’s Black Bloc Anarchic group, burn tyres on the 6th of October Bridge in central Cairo near Tahrir Square on January 25, 2013. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Anarchist Group That You May Remember From Occupy Protests Rears Its Head in Egypt

Egyptian protesters, said to be members of Egypt’s Black Bloc Anarchic group, burn tyres on the 6th of October Bridge in central Cairo near Tahrir Square on January 25, 2013. Protesters stormed a regional government headquarters and clashed with police as mass rallies shook Egypt on the second anniversary of a revolt that ousted Hosni Mubarak and brought Islamists to power. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

In Egypt, the group’s secrecy and self-professed dispersed structure make it difficult to determine its actual scope. It communicates mainly by online social media. Its members’ identities are unknown and faces unseen, so it’s impossible to confirm the authenticity of those who claim to speak in its name.

It’s even impossible to know whether every masked young man in the streets belongs to the block or is just a protester hiding his face – or if the distinction even matters. In Tahrir on Monday, vendors were selling black masks that young men crowded to buy.

“We are the Black Bloc … seeking people’s liberation, the fall of corruption and the toppling of the tyrant,” proclaimed a video announcing the group’s formation, posted online Thursday. It showed youths dressed in black marching in lines in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

“We have arisen to confront the fascist tyrant regime of the Muslim Brotherhood with its military wing,” the video said, warning police not to interfere “or else we will respond without hesitation.”

Brotherhood officials, Islamist politicians and pro-government media accuse the group of violence ranging from trying to set fire to the presidential palace and attacking Brotherhood offices to ransacking state buildings, blocking train tracks and even exchanging gunfire with riot police.

The mayhem of the past five days has seen such incidents – but it is unclear what role Black Bloc members have had, or whether claims the group is armed are true. Security officials say they arrested one suspected bloc member carrying ammunition in Cairo on Sunday.

The state-run Al-Ahram newspaper, which has depicted the group as fueling violence, said that Black Bloc members tried to break into a five-star hotel near Tahrir, and fired guns in the air when other protesters tried to stop them.

A university graduate named Sherif el-Sherafi said he was a founder of the group in an interview with the El-Watan newspaper – though his claims could not be independently confirmed.

He said the bloc has 10,000 members nationwide, organized into groups of around 20 each, but with no chain of command. Members are trained in self-defense and how to deal with tear gas.

“Violence is not an action but a reaction,” he said. He depicted the situation as an inevitable clash between the opposition and government. “What is coming is worse.”

Members say the group was created in response to Dec. 4 clashes, when Brotherhood supporters attacked a protest sit-in outside the presidential palace, touching off hours of street battles that left at least 10 dead and hundreds injured.

Many in the opposition saw that incident as a turning point, a sign that Islamists and the Brotherhood were willing to use violence against Morsi’s critics.

Monday night, a number of protesters praised the masked men in Tahrir Square.

“They aren’t here for sabotage or vandalism, but to protect us from Brotherhood militias,” said Ahmed Ali, an engineer.

Ali said police are now “suppressing the revolution on behalf of the murderer Morsi … So we need these men to defend the revolution.”

Hossam al-Hamalawy, a prominent lefist activist, said the Black Bloc youth are “sincere, they want change and they have seen their friends get killed… (So) they have decided to take the matter into their own hands.”

But he said it “could be dangerous for the revolution,” warning that “this could develop to people carrying arms” ostensibly in response to the Black Bloc.

“Those who topple the regime are the masses,” not underground groups, said al-Hamalawy, of the Socialist Revolutionaries, a key group behind the anti-Mubarak uprising.

Morsi’s office and the Brotherhood have contended for months that the opposition is using the streets to overturn results of elections that Islamists have consistently won.

Now they point to the Black Bloc as proof their opponents are willing to back violence.

On his Facebook page, Morsi’s assistant for foreign affairs Essam el-Haddad accused the Black Bloc of “systematic violence and organized crimes across the country” and accused the opposition of condoning it.

The Brotherhood in a statement denounced “groups of thugs, militias of black gangs” that it accused of attacks on state institution, police and private property. “The silence of opposition political parties on such crimes … indicates their support.”

Morsi’s more hard-line Islamist allies have been more vehement.

The Black Bloc “must be liquidated completely. These groups must be dealt with with violence and all force,” said Mohammed Abu Samra, head of the political party of Islamic Jihad, which once waged a campaign of militant violence in Egypt.

Some ultraconservatives accused Christians of being behind the bloc, in line with their past attempts to fire up their base with warnings that minority Christians are trying to topple Morsi.

Another former jihadi group, the Gamaa Islamiya, threatened on Sunday to create a vigilante group.

Tareq el-Zomr, a leading figure in the group, said that if security forces don’t bring quiet, “it will be the right of the Egyptian people – and us at the forefront – to set up popular committees” to protect property and “counter aggression.”

A Facebook page also claimed the formation of a new militia called the “Muslims Brigade” – though it was not possible to confirm that the group exists.

In a video on the page, a group of masked men holding rifles warned of plots by enemies of Islam and a conspiracy by Christians to turn Egypt into a Christian state and accused the main opposition National Salvation Front of helping “burn Egypt.

Benghazi, IRS, AP...What's next? Only TheBlaze TV offers the truth from Glenn Beck, Andrew Wilkow, and Real News from TheBlaze. Get instant access and a free trial here.

Comments (37)

  • Ghandi was a Republican
    Posted on January 29, 2013 at 1:02pm

    So long as my master gets to be the Tyrant…

    Report this comment

    Ghandi was a Republican  
  • 1snake1
    Posted on January 29, 2013 at 5:37am

    You can always count on blazebots to be as wrong as wrong can be on EVERY issue. Black Bloc isn’t an organization. Its a TACTIC. And these guys are fighting against Islamists. You SHOULD be on their side. But they are brown, so you aren’t.

    Report this comment

    1snake1  
    • Lord_Frostwind
      Posted on January 29, 2013 at 1:10pm

      Yeah, because there isn’t any other possible reason to not like everybody’s favorite internet anarchists who take pride when they hurt and injure police and destroy property, except that we are racists. Give me some credit, I hate and dislike people for much better reasons than just their skin color.

      For the record, that “enemy of my enemy is my friend,” theory you are espousing has a monstrous track record of failure. Most of these groups hate the US, and putting our support behind them usually ends up blowing up in our face. Hence my addendum to the old saying posted lower.

      Report this comment

      Lord_Frostwind  
    • barber2
      Posted on January 29, 2013 at 6:49pm

      1SN: No. I am not on their side because they are masked anarchists. Who cares what color they are ?

      Report this comment

      barber2  
  • CWPrequired
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 9:55pm

    Too bad they had their guns taken away and have been reduced to throwing rocks! Come and take them you democrat socialist sobs.

    Report this comment

    CWPrequired  
  • The Big Mick
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 8:27pm

    Food for thot for those of Intellectual Integrity and Courage.
    If, as Jefferson and the Founders clearly believed, “that Government governs best that governs least”, what IS the extension of that? What is what Theologian Francis Schaeffer called, “the logical outcome of presuppositions”. While pondering that reflect on THE Governmental Principle of The Founders that ALL men are created EQUALLY SOVEREIGN and endowed by GOD with Unalienable Individual Rights. That the ONLY raison d’etre FOR Government is the SECURING of these INDIVIDUAL SOVEREIGN Rights and that ANY and ALL Government SHOULD be Thrown Off, Altered, Abolished when it threatens those rights in ANY way. That the ONLY LEGITIMATE Government is WITH the CONSENT OF “the Governed.” Like “The People” no NUMBER or Percentage is given for “the governed”, and the Founders themselves were a 1/3 MINORITY.
    So what is the LOGICAL extension and outcome of those principles.
    How is ANARCHY–least and therefore BEST Government through NO Government–NOT the IDEAL form of Extremely Radically LIMITED Government?

    See L.Neil Smith’s Libertarian Utopia “The North American Confederation” novels.

    Seems to me the burden of proof is on you guys dissn “anarchy” to show why it is NOT the logical extension of Jefferson and why it is a BAD thing.
    Be careful, once you start down the “People HAVE to be CONTROLLED” route you get to Statism and Collectivism.
    My model is Theistic Anarchy modeled on the Bible Books of

    Report this comment

    The Big Mick  
    • The Big Mick
      Posted on January 28, 2013 at 8:53pm

      Joshua and Judges

      Report this comment

      The Big Mick  
    • lordjosh
      Posted on January 29, 2013 at 7:45am

      Right on. Anarchy is the extreme right. Which is why I am suspect of some OWS “anarchist” who fight for people who want their version of big government.
      Non-violent anarchist who are willing to defend themselves.
      What the world needs now.

      Report this comment

      lordjosh  
  • Excomunicatedmarine
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 8:24pm

    He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” Genesis 16:12

    Report this comment

    Excomunicatedmarine  
  • The Big Mick
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 8:14pm

    Cool! Up da Revolution fellow Anarchists!
    Now, will “Massacre Preventions R’ US” step in to defend these Grass Roots Sons of Liberty when BlackBo’s JihadiNazi Homies go AFTER em?
    Long as these dudes are about DISempowering the State, I’m down wid em.
    When they look to IMPOSE Collectivist Redistribution like the OccuPods*, we part Comradeship.

    *Occupod–said of Toilets, The Joycenters of Phahgoes, and Those Possessed by Alien Life Forms

    Report this comment

    The Big Mick  
  • Tigress1
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 7:50pm

    What a mess. We should have stayed out of it.

    Report this comment

    Tigress1  
    • Lord_Frostwind
      Posted on January 28, 2013 at 8:10pm

      Just when you think the situation is bad, the black head of society has to rear it’s diseased head.

      Now I’m conflicted, I hate both groups in the conflict, and I believe that “enemy of my enemy” line is a load of garbage (the enemy of my enemy is never my friend, he is the next person to die). Guess I’ll just have to hope they smash each other.

      Report this comment

      Lord_Frostwind  
  • GBTVFan_Non_American_Overseas
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 7:47pm

    Vermins killing each other….perfect…pass the popcorn!!!

    Report this comment

    GBTVFan_Non_American_Overseas  
  • SpankDaMonkey
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 7:42pm

    .
    Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll cut their heads off……

    Report this comment

    SpankDaMonkey  
    • pavepaws
      Posted on January 28, 2013 at 7:50pm

      Throw a fence around Egypt, let them fight it out then shoot the survivors.

      Report this comment

      pavepaws  
  • resme
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 7:36pm

    “emerged in Cairo on Monday and presented themselves as the defenders of protesters opposed to the Islamist president’s rule.”

    Sounds like patriots to me. Best of luck, Hang ‘Em High.

    Report this comment

    resme  
  • barber2
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 7:29pm

    The Black Bloc are anarchists. They are attracted to any fight . They like to wear hoodies and masks. They hate any form of authority . They are anti-capitalists , but basically just angry wackos. If you locked any one of them in a closet, he’d probably fight with himself. Sick. Twisted. Dysfunctional. Bad little boys who like to destroy and break things.

    Report this comment

    barber2  
  • barber2
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 7:20pm

    All of these jerks : the mysterious rebels, the misguided youths, the al Qaeda crowd, the Caliphate crew, the anarchists, the angry, the crazy, the unemployed…are riding the same bus right now. It’s called the Down With American Capitalism Express. And our idiot radical Democrats are along for the ride. Like Erdogan said : Democracy is like a bus. You ride it until you reach your stop and then you get off. Hope someone clues in our Democrats that they are riding with an unsavory and dangerous crowd.

    Report this comment

    barber2  
  • DefyTYRANNY
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 7:02pm

    If the Christians over there have any sense at all, they should be fighting the Muslim Brotherhood with everything they have. These guys are just mimicking what they see on the internet to strike fear into the government forces. Additionally, if they DO NOT cover their faces they and their families will be targeted and killed. This could be us soon.

    Report this comment

    DefyTYRANNY  
  • P4cooler
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 7:02pm

    Obama’s buddies are popping up everywhere like cockroaches.

    Report this comment

    P4cooler  
  • vic138
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 6:55pm

    Occupy vs Islamists. Predator vs Aliens 2, can’t wait.

    Report this comment

    vic138  
    • The Big Mick
      Posted on January 28, 2013 at 8:16pm

      NICELY done, Vic. 50 points on the “Name That Classic Allusion” Scoring List for the Film alllusion.

      Report this comment

      The Big Mick  
  • toomuchgovt
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 6:52pm

    Black Bloc = Rich thrill seekers wreaking havoc on the world.

    Report this comment

    toomuchgovt  
  • OBUMAURMAMA
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 6:49pm

    With a little luck they’ll end up on the crucify list.

    Report this comment

    OBUMAURMAMA  
    • barber2
      Posted on January 28, 2013 at 7:34pm

      Couldn’t happen to a better group ! Wouldn’t that be a wonderful solution ? Maybe we can buy them all tickets from America to Egypt. Would probably put a serious dent in the Democrats’ voting base also. Win-Win .

      Report this comment

      barber2  
  • vox_populi
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 6:47pm

    Glad we could help, comrades. Solidarity.

    Report this comment

    vox_populi  
  • BlackCrow
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 6:46pm

    This is going to go over well with the Muslim Brotherhood. Wonder what body parts they are going to lose?

    Report this comment

    BlackCrow  
  • progressiveslayer
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 6:40pm

    Anarchists are just as bad as Islamists and here’s an idea all the anarchists currently in America just go to Egypt and fight Morsi’s crew. Hopefully you’ll kill each other off and reduce your membership to zero on both sides.

    Report this comment

    progressiveslayer  
    • theBru
      Posted on January 28, 2013 at 11:06pm

      When I was in Israel over the past summer, they basically said the same thing about the situation in Syria…I asked several of them which side they were on, and basically they said they were on both sides, Islamist killing Islamist is a dream come true to them…but at the end of the day, they actually were in Assad’s corner, since he was the devil they knew…

      Report this comment

      theBru  
  • LeadNotFollow
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 6:34pm

    The “OCCUPY” vermin are Satan’s minions.

    Report this comment

    LeadNotFollow  
    • barber2
      Posted on January 28, 2013 at 7:15pm

      Agree. The Black Bloc is just another group of INTERNATIONAL ( surprised ?) group of “anti-capitalist ” anarchists just like the international OWS members who were allowed to Occupy DEMOCRAT controlled cities . Tell you anything about the Chicago radicals who now Occupy the White House and control the Democrat Party ? Oh, the INTERNATIONAL Left has invaded America . WAKE UP.

      Report this comment

      barber2  

Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

Glenn Beck Radio

Listen to Glenn Beck 24/7 Listen Now
Restoring Love