Egypt's military-backed interim government has ordered police to end sit-in protests in Cairo by supporters of deposed president Mohammed Morsi, declaring them a threat to national security.
By News Wires (text)
It came as diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful way out of Egypt's crisis gathered pace, with the EU and Germany sending envoys to urge a peaceful resolution to the standoff.
Adding to the tensions, judicial sources said prosecutors had referred the Muslim Brotherhood's fugitive supreme guide, Mohammed Badie, to trial for allegedly inciting the killing of protesters.
The cabinet's announcement came in a statement that said pro-Morsi protest camps at two Cairo squares were posing a "threat to national security."
"The continuation of the dangerous situation in Rabaa al-Adawiya and Nahda squares, and consequent terrorism and road blockages, are no longer acceptable given the threat to national security," it said.
"The government has decided to take all necessary measures to confront and end these dangers, and tasks the interior minster to do all that is necessary in this regard, in accordance with the constitution and law," the statement said.
That was met with immediate defiance by the Islamists, who have been camped out for weeks calling for the reinstatement of Morsi, Egypt's first Islamist president elected last year.
"Nothing will change," said Gehad El-Haddad, a Brotherhood spokesman for the coalition protesting Morsi's overthrow, dismissing the order as an "attempt to terrorise Egyptians."
Reacting to the announcement, Washington urged Egypt to "respect the right of peaceful assemblies."
"That obviously includes sit-ins," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters.
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Pro-Morsi camps vow to stay despite Egypt government promise of safe exit
Muslim Brotherhood says promise of protection for supporters who leave before Cairo crackdown cannot be taken seriously
- The Guardian, Thursday 1 August 2013 13.54 EDT
Protesters camped in Cairo in support of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi have pledged to remain in position despite the new government claiming they would be granted a safe exit if they left before a planned crackdown.
Egypt's interim cabinet mandated the country's police force on Wednesday to disperse two pro-Morsi camps, which have each been in place for a month, prompting fears of a third state-led massacre of Morsi supporters in as many weeks.
On Thursday, the interior ministry encouraged the protesters to close the camps of their own accord by promising that any Morsi supporter who left before the police operation would be given safe passage.
"The interior ministry … calls on those in the squares of Rabaa al-Adawiya and Nahda to listen to the sound of reason, side with the national interest and quickly leave," interior ministry spokesman Hany Abdel-Latif said in a televised statement.
"Whoever responds to this call will have a safe passage and protection," he added.
But a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood said they could not take the government's promise seriously, given the continuing crackdown against the Islamist grouping, many of whose members have been arrested since Morsi's removal on 3 July.
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Anti-coup protesters to march on army headquarters in Cairo
Fri Aug 2, 2013 9:49PM GMT
Supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi say they will march on two army headquarters in the capital Cairo.
The
Anti-Coup Pro-Democracy Alliance, which is one of the largest political
formations in Egypt, announced on Friday evening that it would organize
marches on four security buildings, including two army headquarters, in
Cairo.The alliance also said that it planned to make Alf Maskan a new sit-in site in the capital.
The alliance was formed in response to the ouster of Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected president, in a military coup in early June.
Earlier in the day, thousands of anti-coup protesters held several demonstrations in and around Cairo.
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