On 21 February, anti-British demonstrations started in Egypt. They quickly escalated into real riots in Cairo, Alexandria, Heliopolis, and Mansur by 23 February. Two Englishmen were killed in Cairo, and several British barracks were razed to the ground. British trucks drove into the crowd of demonstrators, killing four of them. Strikes and aggressive demonstrations under anti-British slogans broke out in major cities in Egypt.
The riots were suppressed by the Egyptian police. The nationalists accused Egyptian Prime Minister Ismail Sidky of betraying national interests. This unrest became another painful stage in the formation of the post-colonial world after the war.
Britain gained control over Egyptian territories after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. In 1922, after mass civil disobedience in Egypt, London was forced formally to acknowledge the independence of the country, abolish the protectorate and transform the Sultanate of Egypt into the independent Kingdom of Egypt. In 1936, a treaty was signed between the two countries, de facto allowing the British troops to do whatever they pleased in the country.
Under the Treaty of 1936, Egypt broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, but did not declare war on it until 1945; the Egyptian armed forces were not part of the armies of the anti-Hitler alliance. Cairo denied military support to London during the fight against the Nazis in North Africa. Subsequently, it was revealed that the Chief of General Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces handed over the British defence plan to the Italian command.
In 1953, a revolution took place in Egypt, and the republican government headed by President Mohamed Naguib was established. British troops would completely withdraw from Egypt in 1956.
