The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Muslim Brotherhood

  • More Egyptian protesters die as violence resumes

    Several protesters have died in central Cairo, as the latest rallies held by supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi turn violent.

    BBC correspondent saw seven dead bodies and many people badly injured near central Ramses Square.

    The protests are taking place two days after Muslim Brotherhood camps were broken up, leaving at least 638 dead.

    Protests are also being held outside Cairo. Four people were reportedly killed in clashes in Ismailia.

    In the wake of Wednesday’s violence, police had been authorised to use live ammunition in self-defence.

    With a state of emergency still in force, BBC described the atmosphere as tense.

    Hundreds of people gathered at a nearby mosque after the Muslim Brotherhood, which backs Mr. Morsi, appealed to its supporters to demonstrate after Friday prayers in a “march of anger.”

    The demonstrations are taking place under the slogan “the people want to topple the coup” – referring to the military’s removal of Mr. Morsi on July 3.

     

  • Obama condemns Egypt’s bloodshed

    Obama condemns Egypt’s bloodshed

    … Cancels joint military exercises

    United States President, Barack Obama, has strongly condemned the violence against Egyptian civilians, and has cancelled joint military exercises.

    He said force was not the way to resolve political differences.

    BBC says Mr. Obama’s comments come a day after security forces broke up the protest camps of Muslim Brotherhood supporters, leaving at least 500 people dead.

    Brotherhood members had been protesting for weeks about the army’s overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi in July.

    In the latest violence on Thursday, hundreds of Brotherhood members set fire to a government building near Cairo.

    Local TV footage showed firefighters evacuating employees from the building – which housed the offices of the Giza local government.

    State-run Nile News TV also reported clashes between Brotherhood members and residents in a suburb of Alexandria.

     

  • Nearly 350 killed in Egypt’s ‘open war’

    Egyptians emerged Thursday from an all-night curfew imposed after the worst violence since their 2011 uprising, with 343 people killed as security forces broke up protests supporting ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

    The army-backed interim government imposed a month-long nationwide state of emergency and curfews in Cairo and 13 other provinces.

    AFP reports that shortly after the curfew ended on Thursday morning, light traffic began returning to Cairo’s streets, with roads blocked for weeks by the pro-Morsi protests now reopened.

    A health ministry official said at least 300 civilians had been killed throughout the country, updating an earlier toll. The interior ministry added that 43 security personnel had lost their lives.

    Egypt’s press on Thursday carried photos of Morsi supporters brandishing weapons and throwing stones at police during the previous day’s confrontations.

    “The nightmare of the Brotherhood is gone,” daily Al-Akhbar’s front page headline read.

    “The Brotherhood’s last battle,” added Al-Shorouk.

    At least four churches were attacked, with Christian activists accusing Morsi loyalists of waging “a war of retaliation against Copts in Egypt.”

     

     

  • Egypt prepares for fresh protests

    Supporters and opponents of the ousted Egyptian Islamist President Mohammed Morsi are preparing to stage large rallies in Cairo on the first Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan, BBC reports.

    Mr. Morsi’s supporters hope that millions will continue to back their call for his reinstatement.

    Those whose mass demonstrations led to his removal by the military last week will gather in Tahrir Square.

    Dozens of people have died in deadly clashes since Mr. Morsi’s ousting.

    The BBC says Mr. Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement may have alienated many people while in office, but many Egyptians are also uneasy at the military’s intervention in the country’s politics, and what is emerging is a battle for public opinion and the middle ground.

    On Thursday the United States urged Egypt’s leadership to stop the new authorities’ “arbitrary” arrests of Muslim Brotherhood members, warning against targeting any particular group.

    United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon has also warned against the exclusion of any party from the political process.

    However, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the administration did not believe it should immediately suspend aid to Egypt.

    Washington is due to send four F-16 fighter jets to Egypt, but has not publicly confirmed that the delivery will go ahead.

     

  • Egypt’s army permits peaceful protests

    Egypt’s army permits peaceful protests

    Egypt’s army has said it will guarantee the right to peaceful protest ahead of the traditional day for major rallies, BBC reports.

    Muslim Brotherhood supporters are expected to rally on Friday after the army deposed President Mohammed Morsi.

    New interim leader Adly Mahmud Mansour, the top judge of Egypt’s constitutional court, has pledged to hold elections based on “the genuine people’s will.”

    Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad al-Haddad said it refused to co-operate with the new regime.

    Mr. Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected leader, is in detention, as well as senior figures in the Brotherhood – the Islamist group of which he is a member. Arrests warrants have been for some 300 others.

    Early on Friday, one soldier was reported killed after Islamist militants attacked military and police checkpoints in the Sinai Peninsula with rockets and mortar fire.

    Security checkpoints at al-Arish airport, near the border with Israel and the Gaza Strip, and a police station in Rafah were targeted, officials said.

    Sinai has seen a series of militant attacks on security installations and oil pipelines over the past two years and it is unclear whether the latest attacks are linked to President Morsi’s removal.

  • Egypt’s President calls elections

    Egypt’s President calls elections

    Egyptian President, Mohammed Morsi, has called parliamentary elections, starting on 27 of April and end in June.

    A presidential decree said voting would take place in four regional stages, due to a shortage of election supervisors, BBC reports.

    Mr. Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood movement hope the election will put an end to increasingly vocal opposition and street protests, analysts say.

    The Islamist-dominated parliament was dissolved last June after judges ruled election laws were unconstitutional.

    In the last elections, in January 2012, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party won roughly 40 per cent of the vote.

    Egypt is deeply divided between Mr. Morsi’s Islamist supporters and a liberal-led opposition, and has been wracked by unrest, insecurity and an economic crisis.

    Tensions have intensified since an Islamist-backed constitution – criticised for failing to protect key rights – was adopted in December.

    Thursday’s decree states voting will take place in:

    Cairo and four other provinces on 27-28 April, with a run-off scheduled for 4-5 May.

    Giza, Alexandria and six other provinces on 15-16 May, with a run-off scheduled for 22-23 May

    Eight provinces on 2-3 June, with a run-off scheduled for 9-10 June

    Six provinces on 19-20 June, with a run-off on 26-27 June

    The new People’s Assembly will be invited to convene on 6 July, the decree said.