The atmosphere in Egypt is tense. There is concern, nine months after the fall of Hosni Mubarak, about the hard task of building a nation, as Observers warn, "Two weeks before parliamentary elections billed as a first big step toward democracy, there are new signs that the generals still ruling Egypt are trying to steer the transition to preserve their vast political and economic power." The military rulers have imposed punishment on 11,697 civilians since February. Prominent activists like Alaa Abd-El Fattah are detained.
In the midst of this is an incident on 9 October, when 28 people were killed after a march, mainly of Coptic Christians, was attacked in the Maspero section of Cairo. The regime blamed protesters for causing trouble and assaulting the military. Activists say the deaths were due to the security forces --- this is their account of that evening: