By: VOA News
Source: VOA News
Supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi launched new demonstrations Thursday, a day after 525 people were killed during the interim government’s crackdown on protest camps.
Egyptian state TV and witnesses say hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters attacked government offices Thursday in Giza, a tourist locale with Egypt’s famed pyramids. Separately, hundreds marched through the port city of Alexandria demanding Morsi’s return.
The renewed protests and violence follow Wednesday’s violent crackdown by Egypt’s military on Morsi supporters gathered in protest camps around Cairo and fighting in Alexandria and Suez.
Video being distributed by the Muslim Brotherhood showed hundreds of bodies wrapped in shrouds at Cairo’s El Iman mosque.
Egypt’s health ministry says Wednesday’s violence killed at least 525 people and wounded more than 3,700. The Muslim Brotherhood has put the death toll at more than 4,500.
Crackdown
Authorities had warned for days they would move against the protest camps. On Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama slammed the interim government and security forces for their actions and what he called the pursuit of martial law.
He also announced the cancellation of a bi-annual military exercise, with Egypt, known as “Bright Star,” scheduled for next month.
“Our traditional cooperation cannot continue as usual when civilians are being killed in the streets and rights are being rolled back,” Obama said.
The president also indicated that he has directed his national security team to look at what other steps could be taken.
“The Egyptian people deserve better than what we’ve seen over the last several days,” he said. “And to the Egyptian people let me say the cycle of violence and escalation needs to stop.”
Obama also said the U.S. would not take sides with any party or political figure. He spoke from the resort area of Martha’s Vineyard, in the eastern U.S. state of Massachusetts,, interrupting a week-long vacation with his family to address the spiraling violence.
Military defends actions
Egypt’s interior minister in the military-backed interim government, Mohamed Ibrahim, has defended the actions of security forces, saying they used minimum force against the camps and only fired tear gas.
Ibrahim blamed the Brotherhood for creating what he called a state of mayhem across the country by shooting at police, attacking government buildings and burning churches. But witnesses reported security forces firing live ammunition.
One of Morsi’s former advisers put some of the blame on the United States and Secretary of State John Kerry.
Wael Haddara, now in Canada, said Thursday that Kerry’s statements in the weeks before Wednesday’s crackdown helped embolden Egypt’s military.
“Well I think whatever happens in Washington it is really in the manner of being too little too late,” he said.
“When Mr. Kerry said that the army was ‘resetting things for democracy – restoring democracy’ I think clearly the army understood that to be a green light, a carte blanche to do whatever they want to do and they’ve gone ahead and done it.”
Egypt’s military has started imposing a new overnight curfew as part of a month-long state of emergency.
Also Thursday, Egypt’s judiciary approved extending the detention of former president Morsi by another 30 days.
