| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa North |
| Egypt Police To Besiege Sit-Ins Within 24 Hours |
| 2013-08-12 |
| [Ynet] Security officials say will disperse Morsi supporters' camps in Cairo on daybreak Monday, two weeks after bloody festivities claim lives of dozens Egyptian security forces will besiege two sit-ins by supporters of the country's ousted president within 24 hours, police officials said Sunday, setting up a possible confrontation between the military-backed government and the thousands gathered there. One police official suggested action against the sit-in protests by supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi could begin as early as daybreak Monday. Officials, who spoke anonymously in line with regulations, told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named they are also preparing for possible festivities that might erupt in reaction to the cordons they will set up barring anyone from entering. Egypt's new leadership says that the sit-ins and protests have frightened residents of Cairo, sparked deadly violence and disrupted traffic in the capital. Leaders of the sit-in say their protests have been peaceful and blame security forces and "thugs" for violence. The Arab world's most populous country is readying itself for more potential bloodshed. Already more than 250 people have been killed in violence since Morsi's ouster. A last-ditch effort over the weekend by the Sunni Mohammedan world's pre-eminent religious institution, Al-Azhar, also failed to push the two sides closer to reconciliation. Mass rallies two weeks ago called by military leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi showed that a large segment of Egypt's population backs action by the armed forces. The Interior Ministry had said earlier it would not clamp down on the protesters but will take gradual measures, which include the cordons. Other measures suggested include the use of water cannons and tear gas to minimize casualties. The protesters, expecting an imminent security push to clear them out, have begun fortifying their positions. At Egypt's main protest camp in eastern Cairo, vendors say they have sold hundreds of gas masks, goggles and gloves to protesters readying themselves for police tear gas. A few meters (yards) away from the vendors, three waist-high cement and wooden barriers have been constructed by protesters to keep armored vehicles from crushing the sit-in. The protests include many women and kiddies. Organizations like UNICEF have cautioned against what they say is the deliberate use of children in Egypt who are "put at risk as potential witnesses to or victims of violence." Morsi's Moslem Brüderbund group says it cannot control whether families choose to stay camped out. Some of the Islamist group's top leaders have used the sit-ins as a cover to avoid arrest. Others have already been incarcerated Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! and face charges of inciting violence. Morsi has been held at undisclosed locations since his ouster and is facing a criminal investigation. Tensions between Mohammedans and Christians south of Cairo have been especially high since the Islamist president's ouster. On Sunday, 15 people were maimed when a Mohammedan woman tried to stop a Christian neighbor from building a speed bump in front of her home. Officials say both families started fighting and assailants tossed gasoline bombs into four Christian homes and a local church. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #2 15 people were maimed when a Mohammedan woman tried to stop a Christian neighbor from building a speed bump in front of her home. Officials say both families started fighting and assailants tossed gasoline bombs into four Christian homes and a local church. And they wonder why he was building a speed bump. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2013-08-12 12:45 |
| #1 If I was in charge of Egypt... I would lob some of those anti-personal rounds into these MB protesters, the ones that activate upon movement, then sit back and watch the hilarity ensue. |
| Posted by: Mikey 2013-08-12 01:02 |