Clashes in Egypt

Egypt clashes between police and Morsi supporters leave seven dead

Muslim Brotherhood sources say more surprise marches likely after fighting in several Cairo locations

the Guardian

16 July, 2013

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Fatal clashes have disrupted Cairo's uneasy calm, with at least seven Egyptians killed and hundreds injured late on Monday night, raising fears that the fighting will intensify as the Muslim Brotherhood escalates its street presence in opposition to Mohamed Morsi's removal.

Police fired teargas on protesters, some of whom responded with stones and petrol bombs, as fights broke out between Morsi's supporters and state security forces. One witness photographed what she said was a man being set on fire.

Seven died and more than 260 were injured in the clashes, which dashed hopes that the city was returning to normal after the killing of at least 51 Morsi supporters outside a military facility in east Cairo last week.

Muslim Brotherhood sources said more surprise marches were likely after sundown on Tuesday night.

Monday's fighting, which took place in several Cairo locations including outside the city's university and in the central Ramses Square, marked an escalation in Brotherhood tactics. In previous days the group and its allies had limited their protests to areas around their main protest camp in east Cairo.

Their decision to march on central Cairo and shut down several of the city's main thoroughfares was a provocative one. It suggests they will continue to obstruct attempts by Morsi's military-backed secular successors to enact a swift and stable transition of power.

Stability is partly dependent on the Brotherhood reconciling themselves to Egypt's new order. But the group will negotiate only if Morsi is restored to power first, something utterly unpalatable to the army and its new interim government.

Morsi was ousted by the army on 3 July after days of mass protests against his reign. His Islamist supporters say that as Egypt's first freely elected president he still has democratic legitimacy. But his secular opponents argue that he undermined his mandate by failing to uphold the wider values on which a successful democracy depends.

Morsi remains imprisoned in an unknown location, under investigation for allegedly inciting violence, spying and ruining the economy. Behind-the-scenes meetings were held between the Brotherhood and the military last Thursday and Friday, two senior Brotherhood members told the Guardian. But the talks broke down, and in a sign of the gulf between the two sides, both later denied meetings had taken place.

While the Brotherhood still clings to the vain hope of Morsi's return, both Egypt's new political elite and key international players have clearly moved on. The US initially expressed concern about Morsi's removal, but comments by the country's deputy secretary of state, visiting Cairo this week, suggested Washington was supportive of the new order.

"Only Egyptians can determine their future," Williams Burns said at the US embassy. "I did not come with American solutions. Nor did I come to lecture anyone. We will not try to impose our model on Egypt."

The new prime minister, Hazem Beblawi, continued to fill his cabinet with liberal and technocratic figures, including five women. Nabil Fahmy, Egypt's former ambassador to the US, was appointed foreign minister.

In a symbolic move, Inas Abdel Dayem, who was sacked as head of the Cairo Opera House by Egypt's previous Islamist-leaning culture minister in May, was named as the new culture minister.

But as old scores are settled in Egypt, new ones are being opened. Since Morsi's fall there has been a rise in nationalist and xenophobic discourse, and Syrian refugees who fled civil war at home are now seen as a legitimate target for abuse.

Welcomed with open arms a month ago, Syrians are now attacked on popular television talkshows where they are described as Morsi sympathisers. The new government has also joined in, tightening entry requirements for those fleeing the war.