Egypt’s transition to democracy is not going particularly smoothly. Since long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in 2011’s popular revolution, the country has seen a succession of administrations as the balance of power swung from the armed forces to democratically elected Islamist president Mohammed Morsi and back again after he was removed by the military last July.
The second half of 2013 saw the army-backed government crack down hard on Mr Morsi’s supporters, leaving hundreds dead and thousands arrested. At the same time, a fully fledged insurgency began in the north of the country, where militants have killed hundreds of members of the security forces. Meanwhile, terrorist attacks, including car bombings, have spread as far as the capital Cairo.