Egypt braced for more violence
- Reuters
- Published: 08:49 August 16, 2013
- Image Credit: AP
Cairo:
Deeply polarised Egypt braced for renewed confrontation on Friday after
the Muslim Brotherhood called for a nationwide march of millions to
show anger at a ferocious security crackdown on Islamists in which
hundreds were killed.
Defying
criticism from major Western allies, Egypt’s army-backed government
warned it would turn its guns on anyone who attacked the police or
public institutions after protesters torched a government building in
Cairo on Thursday.
At least 638
people died and thousands were wounded on Wednesday when police cleared
out two protest camps in Cairo set up to denounce the military overthrow
on July 3 of Egypt’s first freely elected president, Islamist leader
Mohammad Mursi.
It was the third
mass killing of Mursi supporters since he was ousted. The assault left
his Muslim Brotherhood in disarray, but they warned they would not
retreat in their showdown with army commander General Abdul Fattah Al
Sisi.
“After the blows and arrests
and killings that we are facing, emotions are too high to be guided by
anyone,” said Brotherhood spokesman Gehad Al Haddad.
A
statement from the Brotherhood called for a nationwide “march of anger”
by millions of supporters on Friday after noon prayers.
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“Despite
the pain and sorrow over the loss of our martyrs, the latest coup
makers’ crime has increased our determination to end them,” it said.
The
Brotherhood accuses the military of staging a coup when it ousted
Mursi. Liberal and youth activists who backed the military saw the move
as a positive response to public demands.
Friday prayers have proved a fertile time for protests during more than two years of unrest across the Arab world.
In
calling for a “Friday of anger,” the Brotherhood used the same name as
that given to the most violent day of the 2011 uprising against former
President Hosni Mubarak. That day, January 28, 2011, marked the
protesters’ victory over the police, who were forced to retreat while
the army was asked to step in.
In a
counter move, a loose liberal and leftist coalition, the National
Salvation Front, called on Egyptians to protest on Friday against what
it said was “obvious terrorism actions” conducted by the Muslim
Brotherhood.
Signalling his
displeasure at the worst bloodshed in Egypt for generations, US
President Barack Obama said on Thursday normal cooperation with Cairo
could not continue and announced the cancellation of military exercises
with Egypt next month.
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