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Bloody
reckoning: Crisis-torn Egypt’s future on a knife edge after
crackdown on Islamists
The
Egyptian military’s crackdown on supporters of ex-President Mohamed
Morsi has plunged the world’s most populous Arab nation into its
worst violence for decades. The country is teetering between a return
to Mubarak-era autocracy and civil war.
A
man looks at bodies laid out in a make shift morgue after Egyptian
security forces stormed two huge protest camps at the Rabaa
al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda squares where supporters of ousted president
Mohamed Morsi were camped, in Cairo, on August 14, 2013 (AFP Photo /
Mosaab El-Shamy)
RT,
15
August, 2013
Egyptian
security forces interrupted a six-week-long stand-off with Morsi’s
Muslim Brotherhood on Wednesday, launching a crackdown on two sit-in
camps in Cairo. The troops used armored bulldozers, tear gas and bird
shot to level and burn down tent camps, where people demanding
Morsi’s reinstatement as president were staging a round-the-clock
protest.
In
the ensuing clashes, which spread from Cairo to other towns and
cities across the country, at least 638 people were killed and 3,994
injured, according to a tally on Thursday by the Egyptian Health
Ministry. About two-fifths of the protesters killed were in Rabaa
al-Adawiya Square, where the biggest Muslim Brotherhood sit-in was
located.
The
opposition claims that the number of casualties was much higher, with
a Muslim Brotherhood spokesman saying more than 4,500 people have
been killed in what he described as a “massacre.”
We will always b non-violent & peaceful. We remain strong, defiant & resolved. We will push fwd untill w. bring down this #Military_Coup
111 РЕТВИТОВ 15 ИЗБРАННЫХ
At
least 43 people of those killed were security troops, indicating the
intensity of violence that both sides resorted to. The Egyptian
police and Morsi supporters accused each other of using firearms in
the clashes, with state media showing home-made firearms and
ammunition confiscated by the police at the protest camps.
Muslim
Brotherhood supporters continued to hold protest marches on Thursday,
in defiance of the government’s crackdown and the state of
emergency they were attempting to enforce.
Hundreds
of Morsi supporters stormed the Giza Governorate and set it ablaze
on, along with a nearby four-story administrative building. While
nobody was inside the more imposing colonial-style governorate,
people had to be evacuated from the top floors of the second building
as thick clouds of smoke threateningly billowed around them.
The
Interior Ministry stated mere hours after the attacks that live
ammunition will be used to repulse any attack on public buildings or
security forces.
Further
unrest was witnessed in Egypt's second-largest city, Alexandria, when
hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets, chanting “We will
come back again for the sake of our martyrs.” At least three people
were killed and 55 others injured when Muslim Brotherhood supporters
clashed with local residents at the rally in Alexandria, reported Al
Arabiya.
Later
in the day, US President Barack Obama announced that joint US-Egypt
military drills which had been scheduled to take place next month are
being called off in the wake of the violence.
Wednesday’s
violence also saw the deaths of four journalists, including Mick
Deane, a 61-year-old Sky News cameraman. Fatalities among media
professionals, who usually wear clothing and equipment identifying
them as journalists, are rare in countries not engaged in warfare.
I've never seen such a bloody fight in Egypt.The security forces kept us ducking behind cars,under a barrage of bullets for 8 hours straight
457 РЕТВИТОВ 41 ИЗБРАННОЕ
The
crackdown on the protesters included arrests of several Muslim
Brotherhood leaders. Security officials claimed that Brotherhood
leaders were instructing their followers to attack police stations in
the country. In the wake of the day of clashes, the government
announced a month-long state of emergency and a dusk-to-dawn curfew.
The
violence also had a clear religious angle to it, when Morsi
supporters targeted at least three Coptic Christian churches in towns
of Minya, Sohag and Assiut. Coptic Christians, who comprise some 10
percent of Egypt’s population of 84 million, have complained that
the rise of the Brotherhood after the toppling of longtime President
Hosni Mubarak led to increased persecution of Egypt’s Christians.
Many Coptic Christians welcomed last month’s military coup that
deposed Morsi.
The
clashes increased the strain on Egypt’s interim government, with
liberal Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei resigning Wednesday evening
in protest against the military crackdown.
"It
has become difficult for me to continue bearing responsibility for
decisions that I do not agree with and whose consequences I fear. I
cannot bear the responsibility for one drop of blood," ElBaradei
said in his resignation letter to the country’s interim president.
Other
liberal members of the interim government did not follow ElBaradei’s
lead, but his departure from the administration cast doubt over the
prospects of the armed forces being able to form an inclusive and
efficient government.
The
military seem determined to continue their hard-fisted treatment of
the Muslim Brotherhood. Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim vowed to
restore Mubarak-era security to the country.
"I
promise that as soon as conditions stabilize and the Egyptian street
stabilizes, as soon as possible, security will be restored to this
nation as if it was before January 25, and more," he said in a
reference to January 25, 2011, the day when the huge demonstrations
began that led to Mubarak’s downfall.
Since
the 2011 revolution, Egypt’s security and already-weak economy have
been gradually deteriorating as the country descends into intensified
power struggles and weak governance. Under the rule of Mubarak, the
Muslim Brotherhood remained illegal, due to its past alleged
involvement in political assassinations.
Members
of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of ousted Egyptian President
Mohamed Mursi throw stones at riot police and the army during clashes
around the area of Rabaa Adawiya square, where they are camping, in
Cairo August 14, 2013 (Reuters / Asmaa Waguih)
The
military’s apparent wish to return to Mubarak-style rule indicates
that the generals have failed to appreciate the changes in Egyptian
society that have occurred since the ousting of the long-time leader
in 2011, journalist and author Hugh Miles told RT.
“Islamism
has become extremely popular, and what we’re really seeing now in
Egypt is a clash between people who want Islam as their frame of
reference, against people who want a more secular kind of
European-style frame of reference,” Miles told RT. “And that’s
a very fundamental divide. It divides families and it divides Egypt.
Probably, roughly half-and-half is the best guess.”
After
Wednesday’s violence, several international organizations and
countries, including the US, criticized the Egyptian military for the
violent crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. US Secretary of State
John Kerry described the events as “deplorable,” a word seldom
used by diplomats.
Washington
reportedly has threatened to cancel its main annual joint military
exercise with Egypt, which has been a symbol of US support of the
Egyptian military since the signing of the Camp David peace accords
between Egypt and Israel in 1978. The US provides some $1.3 billion
in military aid and about $250 million in economic aid a year to
Egypt. Some observers say this aid could be used to put pressure on
the current Egyptian leadership to moderate its authoritarian rule.
Members
of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of ousted Egyptian President
Mohamed Mursi flee from tear gas and rubber bullets fired by riot
police during clashes, on a bridge leading to Rabba el Adwia Square
where they are camping, in Cairo August 14, 2013 (Reuters / Amr
Abdallah Dalsh)
Some
Egypt-watchers believe that the US is reluctant to use its financial
leverage, however, due to a fear of antagonizing the Muslim country
and compromising the security of its neighbor, Israel. The strain in
relations was clear in the most recent US attempt to mediate in the
ongoing crisis, when Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham last
week pleaded with the Egyptian military to reinstate Morsi, only to
receive a sharp rebuff.
“Egypt's
new military regime and a sizable and vocal portion of the Egyptian
population have made it very clear that they just want the United
States to leave it alone,” political analyst Marc Lynch argued in
the online magazine Foreign Policy. “For once, Washington should
give them their wish. As long as Egypt remains on its current path,
the Obama administration should suspend all aid, keep the embassy in
Cairo closed, and refrain from treating the military regime as a
legitimate government.”
Egypt’s
government finances are currently running low, so Cairo to a large
degree relies on international aid and loans to provide even basic
commodities like wheat and fuel. Critics of Morsi say during his year
as president he was more interested in sidelining the secular
opposition than in carrying out much-needed reforms.
The
strongest international condemnation of Wednesday’s crackdown came
from Turkey, whose moderate Islamist government has been a firm
supporter of the Egyptian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. Ankara
called on the UN Security Council and the Arab League to stop the
“massacre.” Several other countries in the region, including
Iran, Tunisia, the Arab Emirates and Qatar, also criticized the
crackdown.
Hundreds
of Morsi supporters torch govt building in Giza after brutal
crackdown
Hundreds
of Morsi supporters have stormed a government building in Giza and
set it alight, reports state TV. This comes after Wednesday’s
brutal crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood loyalists in which over 630
people died.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqYH9DZaRA4
RT,
15
August, 2013
The
Giza incident was confirmed by interior ministry sources, who told Al
Jazeera that protesters had been flinging Molotov cocktails at the
building and firing live ammunition. However, government employees
managed to evacuate the main colonial-style vialla building before it
fell under siege.
15 РЕТВИТОВ 1 ИЗБРАННОЕ
Earlier,
it was reported that MB supporters set on fire the governorate
headquarters in Cairo. This is yet to be confirmed.
In
Giza, a nearby four-story administrative buildings was torched
alongside the governorate building. People could be seen frantically
trying to escape from the top levels of a block in the area with the
aid of firefighters. The affected Giza government offices are
situated on Pyramids Street, on the west bank of the River Nile.
Breaking: #MB militias terrorising civilians; torched Giza Governorate building, houses and cars. #Egypt pic.twitter.com/DdFlOLH4eG
7 РЕТВИТОВ 1 ИЗБРАННОЕ
The
burst of anti-government activity in the capital shortly follows a
hundred-strong march in Alexandria, Egypt’s second largest city.
Protesters have been chanting “We will come back again for the sake
of our martyrs,” despite the violent clearing of two protest camps
on Wednesday.
The
march eventually turned violent as MB supporters clashed with local
residents. At least three people were killed and 55 others sustained
injuries there, reports Al Arabiya.
Firemen
try to put out a fire in a government building that was set ablaze in
Giza's district of Cairo, August 15, 2013 (Reuters / Muhammad Hamed)
The
Muslim Brotherhood called for marches and sit-ins to continue
throughout Thursday as a show of solidarity for previous rallies and
those who were killed when security forces cleared the two main camps
in the capital. The suppression prompted outcry from the
international community, which demanded that the violence be halted.
The
interim government declared a state of emergency and a curfew,
stating that new protest camps would not be allowed.
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