Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood vowed to continue its peaceful protests to reinstate Mohamed Morsi to office a day after clashes with police near their main sit-in in Cairo left dozens killed and hundreds injured.
The government plans to take action against the 30-day sit-in in Rabaa El-Adawiya square “very soon,” Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim said yesterday. It will ask the brotherhood, from which ousted president Morsi hails, to disperse peacefully to avoid “losses,” threatening a surge in violence that has left the Arab world’s most populus nation split as never before.
The clashes left 65 dead and 748 injured, according to the Health Ministry, while violence in the coastal city of Alexandria left nine dead. The violence followed nation-wide protests in which hundreds of thousands of Egyptian responded to Defense Minister Abdelfatah al-Seesi’s call to back the military and police in dealing with unrest. Tens of thousands came out to the streets to denounce what they describe as a “coup” when the army removed Morsi from power on July 3.
“It probably wouldn’t be smart for the Brotherhood from an organizational stand point to suspend protests because it is very clear what happens afterward,” said Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center. “The military would make its move and dismantle the organization.”
‘Genocide Crimes’
The Brotherhood and its allies, who have held daily rallies since Morsi’s ouster, described the overnight deaths as “genocide crimes and crimes against humanity.” They put the death toll from yesterday’s clashes at 127.
They said other nations and the International Criminal Court must hold al-Seesi “accountable for all blood-shedding taking place in the country and for violating the basic right of life.”
Police said it only used tear gas and blamed the Brotherhood supporters for the clashes by trying to block a major bridge. The Islamist group said they wanted to extend the sit-in because the square was full.
“This massacre is a desperate attempt from the ruling regime to reinforce a reign that is on its way to end,” Ahmed Aref, a Brotherhood spokesman, said at a press conference in Rabaa square in the neighborhood of Nasr City.
Security forces, who said they intervened to break up the fighting between Brotherhood supporters and other citizens, put the death toll in Cairo at 21, and said another 10 people were killed in Alexandria skirmishes.
Alliance Accusation
The Anti-Coup Alliance, which comprises Brotherhood members and Islamist parties, said uniformed police and “thugs” operated side by side and opened fire on the crowds.
Footage shown by Al-Jazeera showed about dozen corpses covered in blood-stained white shrouds, with a row of men reciting prayers over the bodies. Outside, in Rabaa El-Adawiya Square, thousands were massed in the square as the call to prayer rang out.
Egyptian judicial authorities on July 26 extended Morsi’s detention by 15 days after accusing him of conspiring with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in murders, abductions, jailbreaks and other attacks on the country’s security buildings, MENA said. Morsi has been held by the military since being deposed.
The military said the day before that it would use new tactics against violence and terrorism starting today, without giving details.
Al-Seesi’s request for Egyptians to rally was “designed to reframe the conflict with the Muslim Brotherhood as a war on terror,” Hani Sabra, Middle East director at the Eurasia Group in New York, said in an e-mailed statement.
No Coup
Mass protests against Morsi began on the anniversary of his first year in office. His critics had argued he ignored Egypt’s interests in favor of advancing the agenda of the Brotherhood, which fielded him for office. The military said his removal wasn’t a coup, and instead was a response to the popular will after a year of polarizing tensions.
Al-Seesi has become an iconic figure since the ouster of Morsi, who appointed him. Banners and posters honoring the defense chief were hoisted by pro-military demonstrators yesterday.
Contrary to the bloodshed in Cairo’s Nasr City, the mood among the pro-military crowd in Tahrir Square on July 26 was festive. A military chopper festooned with LED lights flew in circles as tens of thousands of Egyptians chanted in favor of al-Seesi, some describing him as their choice for a new president.
Judicial Process
Before the latest deaths, more than 100 Islamists had been killed in the days since Morsi was deposed. The military-appointed interim government has started a crackdown on the Brotherhood leaders and their sympathizers through arrests and asset freezes.
“It’s becoming increasingly untenable for president Morsi to be detained for almost a month now without being charged with anything,” putting pressure on the authorities to announce a judicial process, Yasser el-Shimy, a Cairo-based analyst with the International Crisis Group, said yesterday by phone. “It’s likely to inflame the sentiments of the pro-Morsi crowd.”
President Barack Obama’s administration, in a move that may protect U.S. aid to Egypt, has concluded that it doesn’t have to make a formal determination on whether Morsi’s ouster was a coup, a State Department official said.
Making such a determination, which potentially would have required cutting off aid, wouldn’t be in the U.S. national interest, State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said yesterday. Egypt is a stabilizing force in the region, she said.
European Union foreign policy chiefCatherine Ashton called on all parties to halt the violence.
“Reconciliation and dialogue are paramount at this critical juncture,” she said. “All political groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, must be involved in the transformation process, which should lead to a constitutional order, free and fair elections and a civilian-led government.”
Source:Bloomberg
