Death toll rises to 50+ in "Friday of Anger" protests

REUTERS

Egypt death toll mounts in ‘Friday of Anger’ protests

August 16, 2013

CAIRO — Egypt remains in turmoil after about 50 people were killed in protests in Cairo, on Friday, security officials said.

The Egyptian military deployed around vital installations in Cairo earlier Friday, state media reported, before "Friday of Anger" protests called by backers of deposed president Mohamed Mursi.

Hundreds of people died and thousands were wounded on Wednesday when police cleared out two protest camps in Cairo set up to denounce the military’s overthrow of Egypt’s first freely elected president on July 3 and to demand his reinstatement.

The health ministry puts the death toll at 578, excluding those who were killed in Friday's protests. The Brotherhood, however, says the government is hiding a much bigger number.

Dozens of armoured vehicles will close off streets around part of northeastern Cairo where Islamists had staged protests demanding Mr Mursi’s reinstatement, the state news agency said.

Military vehicles manned by soldiers could be seen in central Cairo, where checkpoints with barbed wire were set up.

Deeply polarised Egypt has been bracing for further confrontation expected after Friday prayers between members of Mr Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood and the army-backed government.

The Brotherhood called for a nationwide march of millions to show anger at the ferocious security crackdown on Islamists.

After protesters torched a government building in Cairo on Thursday, the authorities said security forces would turn their guns on anyone who attacked the police or public institutions.

Wednesday’s bloodshed was the third mass killing of Mr Mursi’s supporters since his ouster. The assault left his Muslim Brotherhood in disarray, but it said it would not retreat in its showdown with army commander Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

"After the blows and arrests and killings that we are facing, emotions are too high to be guided by anyone," said Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad.

‘PAIN AND SORROW’

A Brotherhood statement called for a nationwide "march of anger" by millions of supporters on Friday after noon prayers.

"Despite the pain and sorrow over the loss of our martyrs, the latest coup makers’ crime has increased our determination to end them," it said.

The Brotherhood accuses the military of staging a coup when it ousted Mr Mursi. Liberal and youth activists who backed the military saw the move as a positive response to public demands.

But some fear Egypt is turning back into the kind of police state that kept former president Hosni Mubarak in power for 30 years, as security institutions recover their confidence and reassert control.

Friday prayers have proved a fertile time for protests during more than two years of unrest across the Arab world.

In calling for a "Friday of anger," the Brotherhood used the same name as that given to the most violent day of the uprising against Mr Mubarak. That day, January 28 2011, marked the protesters’ victory over the police, who were forced to retreat while the army was asked to intervene.

In a counter-move, a loose liberal and leftist coalition, the National Salvation Front, called on Egyptians to protest on Friday against the Brotherhood’s "obvious terrorism actions."

Signalling his displeasure at the worst bloodshed in Egypt for generations, US President Barack Obama said on Thursday normal co-operation with Cairo could not continue and announced the cancellation of military exercises with Egypt in September.

"We deplore violence against civilians. We support universal rights essential to human dignity, including the right to peaceful protest," he said, but stopped short of cutting off the $1.55bn a year of mostly military US aid to Egypt.

The US on Thursday told its citizens to leave Egypt due to the unrest. It issued the same advice in July.

The Egyptian presidency issued a statement saying Mr Obama’s remarks were not based on "facts" and would strengthen and encourage violent groups that were committing "terrorist acts".

‘REFRAIN FROM VIOLENCE’

Washington’s influence over Cairo has been called into question since Mr Mursi’s overthrow. Since then Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have pledged $12bn in assistance, making them more prominent partners.

Mr Obama’s refusal so far to cut off US aid to Egypt suggests he does not wish to alienate the generals, despite the scale of the bloodshed in the army’s suppression of Mursi supporters.

US defence secretary Chuck Hagel said he had called Mr Sisi on Thursday to say Washington would maintain its military relationship with Egypt, but he also told him the recent violence was putting defence co-operation at risk.

"Since the recent crisis began, the US has made it clear that the Egyptian government must refrain from violence, respect freedom of assembly, and move toward an inclusive political transition," Mr Hagel said in a statement.

The White House has voiced support for democracy in Egypt, while seeking to protect US strategic interest in Egypt’s stability, its peace treaty with Israel and co-operation with the US military, including privileged access to the Suez Canal.

France’s foreign minister said on Friday the tension in Egypt risked playing into the hands of radical groups.

"Maximum restraint must be shown otherwise the risk is that extremist groups take advantage of the situation and that would be extremely serious," Laurent Fabius told RTL radio.

The Egyptian press was full of praise for security forces, illustrating the rift between Cairo and its Western allies.

Some Gulf Arab states applauded the army action. The UAE praised Egypt’s government for using "maximum self-control".

The Arab nations’ cash, which started arriving in July, is aimed at stabilising Egypt’s wobbling economy, which is suffering from a ballooning budget deficit and high inflation.

This week’s carnage will further damage state coffers. The government has imposed a night-time curfew set to last at least a month, a move that will hit the crucial tourism industry.

On Thursday, the United Nations (UN) Security Council urged all parties in Egypt to exercise restraint, but did not assign blame.

"The view of council members is that it is important to end violence in Egypt," Argentine UN Ambassador Maria Cristina Perceval said after the 15-member council met on the situation.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan had earlier also urged the council to convene quickly after what he called a massacre in Egypt and criticised Western nations for failing to stop it.

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay has called for an independent investigation into Wednesday’s events in Egypt.


*Photo courtesy of NowTheEndBegins.com