Egypt’s death toll mounts as chaos continues.... about 3 days ago Obama condemns bloodshed, cancels joint military exercise DESPITE the deadly crackdown on their members by Egyptian security forces, supporters of Muslim Brotherhood yesterday stormed and torched a government building in Cairo while families tried to identify hundreds of mutilated bodies piled in a Cairo mosque a day after they were shot dead by the security forces. But while Egypt’s interim government stated that 525 people were killed and thousands wounded in the worst day of civil violence in the modern history of the most populous Arab state, Brotherhood supporters countered. Agency reports quoted the Islamists as saying the death toll was far higher, with hundreds of bodies yet uncounted for by the authorities whose troops and police crushed protests seeking the return of deposed President Mohamed Morsi. Meanwhile, international condemnations yesterday continued to rain down on Cairo’s military-backed rulers for ordering the storming of pro-Morsi protest camps after dawn on Wednesday, six weeks after the army overthrew the country’s first freely elected leader. Among them, the United States (U.S.) President Barack Obama strongly condemned the violence and cancelled joint military exercises, arguing that co-operation could not continue while civilians were being killed. Also, U.S. auto giant General Motors said yesterday that it has shuttered its Cairo office and stopped production due to the unrest in Egypt. “We made the decision to close our Cairo office and halt production operations in our plant in 6th October City,” a GM spokesman said in a statement. “The safety and security of our employees is of paramount importance to us. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.” GM produces light duty trucks, passenger cars and minibuses in Egypt and employs more than 14,000 Egyptians, the company said. Speaking from his holiday home in Martha’s Vineyard, Obama condemned the interim Egyptian government’s actions in ordering security forces to break up the protest camps. Announcing the cancellation of joint military exercises scheduled for later this month, he said co-operation with Egypt could not continue as normal while civilians were being killed on the streets and rights were being rolled back. He said that Egypt was on a dangerous path, and he called for it to reject violence and adopt a process of national reconciliation. But he added: “We don’t take sides with any party or political figure.” Meanwhile, Egypt’s interior ministry has now authorised police to use live ammunition in attacks against them. On Wednesday, security forces broke up Muslim Brotherhood protesters who were demanding the reinstatement of President Mohammed Morsi, with at least 500 people killed nationwide. The Brotherhood members had been protesting for weeks about the army’s overthrow of Morsi in July. In the latest violence yesterday, 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. At least four Egyptian soldiers were shot dead by unknown gunmen near the city of el-Arish in the Sinai region. Though government said 525 people died nationwide on Wednesday, but the final toll is likely to be significantly higher. Scores of bodies have not been registered, because the official count only includes bodies, which have passed through hospitals. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that 202 bodies were wrapped in shrouds at the Eman mosque, close to the main protest camp at Rabaa al-Adawiya Square. The BBC reported that most of these were unlikely to have been counted in the official toll. It was stated that many had been burned beyond recognition. The Muslim Brotherhood insists that more than 2,000 people died. It said 300 bodies were taken to the Eman mosque, and other bodies were taken to sports halls. There were also reports of disputes between bereaved relatives and officials entrusted with documenting the causes of death. However, other international figures have also condemned Wednesday’s violence. Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has demanded an independent, impartial inquiry into what happened. “The number of people killed or injured, even according to the government’s figures, point to an excessive, even extreme, use of force against demonstrators,” Ms Pillay said in a statement. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the events as a “very serious massacre”. Wednesday’s violence began when armoured bulldozers moved into the two protest camps in Cairo, which had been occupied by pro-Morsi activists since soon after he was ousted on 3 July. The smaller of the two protest camps, at Nahda Square, was cleared quickly but clashes raged for several hours in and around the main encampment at Rabaa al-Adawiya. The mosque of the same name was damaged by fire. Mobs later carried out reprisal attacks on government buildings and police stations as well as churches belonging to the country’s Coptic Christian minority. In a televised address on Wednesday evening, Egyptian interim Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi defended the operation, saying the authorities had to restore security. He declared a state of emergency, but said this would be lifted as soon as possible. Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president was ousted by the military on 3 July. He is now in custody, charged with murder over a 2011 jailbreak. His period of detention was extended by 30 days on Thursday, state media said
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 09:42:33 +0000
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