Egypt warns protesters as weekend death toll climbs
29 July 2013 11:47 PM GMT
Egypt’s interior minister on Sunday pledged to deal decisively with any attempts to destabilize the country, a thinly veiled warning to supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi occupying two squares in Cairo in a month-long stand-off with the security forces.
The warning came as authorities said that the death toll in weekend clashes between Mohammed Morsi’s Islamist backers and security forces near one of those sit-ins had reached 72, in the deadliest single outbreak of violence since the 3 July military coup.
‘I assure the people of Egypt that the police are determined to maintain security and safety to their nation and are capable of doing so,’Mohammed Ibrahim told a graduation ceremony at the national police academy. ‘We will very decisively deal with any attempt to undermine stability,’ said Ibrahim, who is in charge of the police.
Ibrahim’s comments added pressure on Morsi’s backers three weeks after the Islamist president was ousted in a military coup that followed days of street protests by millions calling on him to step down.
On Friday, millions again took to the streets in a show of support for Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, the military chief who ousted Morsi. Those protests were in response to Abdel-Fattah’s call for a mandate for him and the police to tackle what he called violence and potential terrorism.
The warning came as authorities said that the death toll in weekend clashes between Mohammed Morsi’s Islamist backers and security forces near one of those sit-ins had reached 72, in the deadliest single outbreak of violence since the 3 July military coup.
‘I assure the people of Egypt that the police are determined to maintain security and safety to their nation and are capable of doing so,’Mohammed Ibrahim told a graduation ceremony at the national police academy. ‘We will very decisively deal with any attempt to undermine stability,’ said Ibrahim, who is in charge of the police.
Ibrahim’s comments added pressure on Morsi’s backers three weeks after the Islamist president was ousted in a military coup that followed days of street protests by millions calling on him to step down.
On Friday, millions again took to the streets in a show of support for Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, the military chief who ousted Morsi. Those protests were in response to Abdel-Fattah’s call for a mandate for him and the police to tackle what he called violence and potential terrorism.
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