1986 Egyptian conscripts riot

Tanks in Cairo during the 1986 riots

Date	25 February 1986
Location	Cairo, Egypt
Result	Uprising Quelled

Belligerents

Egypt

Central Security Forces

Commanders and leaders

Hosni Mubarak

no centralized leadership

On 25 February 1986 around 25,000 conscripts of the Central Security Forces (CSF), an Egyptian paramilitary force, staged violent protests in and around Cairo. The riot came as a reaction to the rumour that their three-year compulsory service would be prolonged by one additional year without any additional benefits or rank promotion.

The incited conscripts targeted tourist areas, the American Embassy Compound and destroyed two hotels. The regime of Mubarak relied on the Armed Forces to crush the mutiny, thus when the poorly paid and poorly armed CSF mutinied,^[1] the military was sent in to restore order. The Army deployed tanks and armoured personnel carriers and commando snipers to hunt down the rebelling conscripts, most of whom were unarmed or armed only with shields, batons, and assault rifles. In Upper Egypt and near Giza, the Army Aviation and the Air Force used helicopters and fighter jets to attack the rebelling conscripts, causing many deaths. At least four to five helicopters, and three fighter jets, were used in the operation. The Air Force officer in command of the operation was Ahmed Shafik, as commander of all MiG-21 fleets in the Central Military Zone.

The riot lasted for three days, 107 died mostly CSF personnel, according to official reports and 1324 were arrested.^[2] Over 20,000 conscripts were dismissed from service with no benefits, and the agitators received correctional punishment after being tried before State Security Court for arson, violent riots, and insubordination according to penal code. Some reports related that mutiny to a conspiracy against the Minister of Interior in charge by then (Gen. Ahmed Roshdy) due to his policies. After the suppression the government promised to overhaul the force by raising its entry standards, increasing payment and bettering living conditions in their camps.^[3]

References

[edit]

^ H.Frisch, Guns and butter in the Egyptian Army, p.6. Middle East Review of International Affairs, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Summer 2001).
^ Europa Publications Limited, The Middle East & North Africa, Volume 50: p.303
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-03-17. Retrieved 2014-12-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

v t e Major revolts and riots in modern Egypt
Major events before 2010	Urabi revolt (1879–1882) 1919 Egyptian revolution Helwan riots (1945) 1945 anti-Jewish riots in Egypt Cairo fire (1952) 1952 Egyptian revolution Corrective Revolution (1971) 1977 Egyptian bread riots 1986 Egyptian conscripts riot 2000 Kosheh lynchings 2005 Alexandria riot 2008 Egyptian general strike
Egyptian Crisis (2011–2014)	2011 Egyptian revolution 2011 Maspero demonstrations Sinai insurgency (2011–present) 2012–2013 Egyptian protests 2013 Egyptian coup d'état Post-coup unrest in Egypt (2013–2014) Timeline of terrorism in Egypt (2013–present)
2017–present	2017 Warraq Island protests 2019 Egyptian protests Egyptian National Action Group 2020 Egyptian protests

v t e List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
1910s	Italo-Turkish War World War I Middle Eastern theatre Battle of Robat Karim Arab Revolt Armenian genocide Assyrian genocide Mount Lebanon starvation Unification of Saudi Arabia Simko Shikak revolt 1919 Egyptian revolution Turkish War of Independence Anglo-Turkish War Al-Jazeera Front Greco-Turkish War Turkish–Armenian War Franco-Turkish War Revolts United States Mahmud Barzanji revolts
1920s	Franco-Syrian War Iraqi Revolt (1920) Intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine Adwan Rebellion Arab separatism in Khuzestan Great Syrian Revolt Sheikh Said rebellion
1930s	Ararat rebellion Ahmed Barzani revolt Simele massacre Saudi–Yemeni War (1934) Goharshad Mosque rebellion 1935–1936 Iraqi Shia revolts 1935 Yazidi revolt 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Dersim rebellion
1940s	World War II Italian bombing of Palestine Allied invasion of Iraq Syria–Lebanon campaign Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran 1943 Barzani revolt Al-Waziri coup Al-Wathbah uprising Kurdish separatism in Iran Iran crisis of 1946 Arab–Israeli conflict 1948 Arab–Israeli War Suez Crisis 1967 Six-Day War 1973 Yom Kippur War 1982 Lebanon War
1950s	1952 Egyptian revolution 1953 Iranian coup d'état Jebel Akhdar War Cyprus Emergency Suez Crisis Yemeni–Adenese clan violence 1958 Lebanon crisis 1958 Iraqi revolution 1959 Mosul uprising
1960s	Cyprus crisis of 1963–1964 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict First Iraqi–Kurdish War Second Iraqi–Kurdish War Dhofar Rebellion North Yemen civil war Feb. 1963 Iraqi coup Mar. 1963 Syrian coup Nov. 1963 Iraqi coup Aden Emergency 1964 Hama riot Israeli–Palestinian conflict 1948 Palestine war First Intifada Second Intifada 1966 Syrian coup d'état
1970s	Black September in Jordan Yemenite War of 1972 Turkish invasion of Cyprus Shatt al-Arab clashes Lebanese Civil War Political violence in Turkey Islamist uprising in Syria 1977 Shia uprising in Iraq NDF Rebellion Yemenite War of 1979 Iranian Revolution Consolidation of the Iranian Revolution 1979 Qatif Uprising Grand Mosque seizure 1979–1980 Shia uprising in Iraq
1980s	Iran–Iraq War 1980 Turkish coup d'état Kurdish–Turkish conflict Turkey–PKK conflict South Yemen civil war 1986 Egyptian conscripts riot 1986 Damascus bombings 1987 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt Mecca massacre Abu Nidal's executions
1990s	Gulf War (1990–1991) 1991 Iraqi uprisings Terror campaign in Egypt (1990s) Yemeni Civil War (1994) Iraqi Kurdish Civil War Islamic insurgency in Saudi Arabia (2000–present) Operation Desert Fox al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen 1999 Shia uprising in Iraq
2000s	Iraq War Balochi insurgency in Iran 2004 Qamishli riots Houthi insurgency in Yemen Iran–Israel proxy conflict 2006 Lebanon War Fatah–Hamas conflict South Yemen insurgency
2010s	2011 Bahraini uprising Egyptian Crisis Sinai insurgency Insurgency in Egypt (2013–present) Syrian civil war Turkish involvement in Syria Syrian War spillover in Lebanon Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013) War in Iraq (2013–2017) Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present) Yemeni crisis Yemeni civil war (2014–present)
2020s	2021 Beirut clashes Israel–Hamas war Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present) Red Sea crisis
This list includes World War I and later conflicts (after 1914) of at least 100 fatalities each Prolonged conflicts are listed in the decade when initiated; ongoing conflicts are marked italic, and conflicts with +100,000 killed with bold.

See also

References