Egyptian military funeral held for longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak

Egypt held a full-honours military funeral Wednesday for the country's former autocratic president Hosni Mubarak, who ruled for decades before he was ousted in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that swept much of the region.

The funeral, replete with cannon fire and a horse-drawn carriage carrying his coffin, highlighted the wartime achievements of Mubarak. It comes as part of a government effort to make Mubarak's military career his legacy, rather than his time in office.

Mubarak's body was later placed in a tomb a few kilometres away at his family's cemetery in Heliopolis, an upscale Cairo district that was Mubarak's home for most of his rule and where he lived quietly until his death.

The country's state television channel, meanwhile, maintained live coverage and played footage of Mubarak in his younger, pre-office days, lauding him for his role as a fighter pilot in the country's 1973 war with Israel. As president, Mubarak would later solidify peace with their onetime enemy.

Mubarak, who held on to the presidency for more than 30 years, carried out a brutal campaign against Islamist militants, but also allowed for minimal political dissent from his opponents. Under his rule, Egypt's security branches grew into formidable forces with little civilian oversight, known for their human rights violations. And although he oversaw an opening of the country's economy, much of the country's population slid further into poverty during his time in office.

Nonetheless, the former president still enjoys a degree of popularity among many Egyptians, who have painted him as a paternal figure. At the height of the 2011 uprising, his supporters would sometimes violently clash with pro-democracy protesters.

On Wednesday, a few dozen Mubarak supporters, clad in black and carrying posters of the former president, had gathered since the morning hours at a mosque complex in an eastern New Cairo neighbourhood, where Mubarak's body was brought for the funeral service.

A horse carriage carrying Mubarak's casket, wrapped in the Egyptian flag, left the mosque after afternoon prayers, to a slow military march. His sons, wealthy businessman Alaa and Mubarak's one-time heir apparent Gamal, stood in the front row alongside several Mubarak-era ministers.

Egypt's current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi attended briefly, offering condolences and shaking hands with Mubarak's family.

The 91-year-old Mubarak died on Tuesday at a Cairo military hospital from heart and kidney complications, according to medical documents obtained by The Associated Press. He was admitted to hospital on Jan. 21 with intestinal obstruction and underwent surgery, after which he was treated in intensive care.

'100 million say goodbye!'

To the outside world, Mubarak the strongman symbolized so much of Egypt's modern history but his rule of nearly 30 years ended after hundreds of thousands of young Egyptians rallied for 18 days of unprecedented street protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square and elsewhere in 2011, forcing him to step down.

Mubarak's funeral service was held at a military mosque in eastern Cairo, named for now-retired Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi.

A crowd of Mubarak supporters gathered at the cemetery, holding photos of the deposed president and chanting, "Gamal, tell your father, 100 million say goodbye!"

"We thank President el-Sisi for holding a military funeral for President Mubarak. He deserves it," said Ahmed Salah, a 43-year-old businessman from Menofia, north of Cairo.

Police officers were out in force, a sign that the government regarded his death as a security risk.

Reaction a contrast to death of Morsi

Pro-government media also paid tribute to Mubarak, a pilot by training, for his command of Egypt's air force. National flags at government buildings flew at half-mast.

"Through his military and political career, Mubarak made undeniable achievements and sacrifices," the state-run al-Aharm newspaper eulogized Mubarak in its editorial Wednesday.

This was a stark contrast to the treatment of his successor, Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected leader, who lasted only a year in office before the army toppled him and Sisi was installed. Morsi died last year after collapsing in court while on trial on espionage charges. Egyptian media, which are tightly controlled, paid little attention to his death.

In a statement Tuesday, Sisi praised Mubarak's service during the 1973 war with Israel but made no mention of his rule as president.

Egypt's Hosni Mubarak dead at 91

5 years ago

Duration 2:36

Former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak has died. Mubarak ruled for 30 years before he was ousted in 2011 during the Arab Spring.

Mubarak wasvice-president on Oct. 6, 1981 when his mentor, President Anwar Sadat, was assassinated by Islamic extremists while reviewing a military parade. Seated next to Sadat, Mubarak escaped with a minor hand injury as gunmen sprayed the reviewing stand with bullets. Eight days later, the brawny former air force commander was sworn in as president, promising continuity and order.

Mubarak's rule was marked by a close alliance with the U.S. in the fight against Islamic militancy and assisting regional peace efforts, but in the end, conflicts with the Muslim Brotherhood that led to his ouster.

In June 2012, Mubarak and his security chief were sentenced to life in prison for failing to prevent the killing of some 900 protesters during the 18-day uprising. Both appealed the verdict and a higher court later cleared them in 2014.

The following year, Mubarak and his sons were sentenced to three years in prison on corruption charges during a retrial. The sons were released in 2015 for time served, while Mubarak walked free in 2017.

Sisi has overseen a broad crackdown on dissent, which rights groups say is the most severe in recent memory.

Mubarak's rule "had several positive features, especially as compared to the present one," said Robert Springborg, a professor at King's College in London, noting that he tolerated some opposition, kept the state from dominating the economy and avoided excessive foreign debt.

"I never thought I would say it when he was in power."