Egypt Coup Post- Mortem

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/International/2013/Jul-08/222850-egypts-central-bank-governor-seeking-aid-from-gulf-reports.ashx#axzz2YPYqk4MN

( Cash crisis as real liquidity for foreign reserves about 6 weeks... )

Egypt’s central bank governor seeking aid from Gulf: reportsJuly 08, 2013 12:32 AM

CAIRO: The governor of Egypt’s central bank, Hisham Ramez, flew to Abu Dhabi Sunday, officials at Cairo airport said, following Egyptian media reports Cairo was seeking financial aid from Gulf states after the ousting of Islamist President Mohammad Mursi. Egypt’s foreign reserves fell by $1.12 billion in June to $14.92 billion, the central bank said Sunday, underlining the perilous state of the country’s finances as a new military-backed government takes on the reins of power.
The reserves represent less than three months of imports and only about half are in the form of cash or in securities that can easily be spent. The IMF considers three months to be the minimum safe cushion for reserves.

Egypt’s budget and balance of payments have reached a state of crisis in the 2 1/2 years of political and economic turmoil since veteran leader Hosni Mubarak was toppled in a popular uprising in 2011.

Neither the governor nor another senior central bank official were immediately available for comment.

The United Arab Emirates pledged $3 billion in aid for Egypt in 2011 that has yet to be delivered. In May of this year it said it would take time for the money to be transferred.

Qatar has lent Egypt more than $7 billion since Mursi was elected president a year ago, but other Gulf countries have remained aloof.

Analysts said they were wary of Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood.

The army, which ousted Mursi Wednesday, is currently working to form a new government.

Cairo’s benchmark retreated 0.4 percent Sunday to 5,312 points from a one-month high as the index faced chart-resistance and investors booked gains from a recent rally.

The market rose to 5,413 points intraday, near the June peak.

Local investors, who were buyers in the recent rally, joined foreigners as net sellers Sunday, according to exchange data.
Analysts said local sentiment was mixed as worries of further protests outweighed optimism on the awaited appointment of a new prime minister.

Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement called for further protests Sunday after dozens of people were killed and more than 1,000 wounded Friday in clashes between his supporters, opponents and the military.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/75973/Egypt/Politics-/Updated-Bahaa-ElDin-offered-Egypts-PM-job,-ElBarad.aspx

Updated: Bahaa El-Din offered Egypt's PM job, ElBaradei set to be appointed VP

Ziad Bahaa El-Din, an Egyptian lawyer and founding member of the Social Democratic Party, is offered the Prime Minister post

Ahram Online , Sunday 7 Jul 2013

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Ziad Bahaa El-Din (Photo: Al-Ahram)

Anti-Morsi groups hold out for Baradei PM appointment

Sources reveal deliberations over filling Egypt's prime minister post

ElBaradei or not ElBaradei? Egypt premiership still unassigned

Ziad Bahaa El-Din, founding member of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, has been offered to become Egypt's new Prime Minister, sources told Ahram Online on Sunday.

When contacted by Ahram Online, El-Din, who was also the head of Egypt's General Authority for Investment, said "a decision is neither final nor official".

Liberal politician Mohamed ElBaradei, who was a vocal critic of the Muslim Brotherhood rule, is set to be appointed as vice-president, Ahram Online has learned.

ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was tipped to become the new prime minister but his candidacy was dropped after Salafist Nour party voiced objection.

Egypt's presidency has yet to officially confirm the appointment of ElBaradei and Bahaa El-Din.

Nour deputy head Bassam El-Zarka said the party would welcome the appointment of El-Din as a prime minister. "He is one of the liberal figures that we greatly respect," he said in a phone interview with Egyptian satellite channel Al-Hayat.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/morsi-backers-clash-with-opponents-security-forces-as-egypt-violence-escalates/2013/07/06/e773378c-e62a-11e2-80eb-3145e2994a55_story.html?hpid=z2

CAIRO — Divisions opened Saturday among the mixed coalition of Egyptian activists and politicians who banded together against their country’s Islamist government this week, with a dispute over who would become the interim prime minister showing sharp disagreements about how the country should be organized.

Egyptian state media reported, then later rolled back an announcement Saturday that former U.N. nuclear agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei had been appointed Egypt’s interim prime minister, apparently after Islamists who joined in the coalition against ousted President Mohamed Morsi threatened to pull their support if ElBaradei was installed.

“Indications are directed at a certain name, but talks are still ongoing,” said Ahmed el-Moslemany, a spokesman for interim President Adly Mansour, speaking to reporters in Cairo late Saturday.

The uncharacteristic back-and-forth from the usually authoritative state media suggested that ElBaradei — a divisive figure within Egypt who is seen as a staunch secularist by groups who want a greater role for religion in politics — may have proved too controversial a pick as prime minister. A top aide to ElBaradei had also portrayed the appointment as a done deal on Saturday.

But as reports of ElBaradei’s selection filtered out, leaders of the ultraconservative Salafist Nour Party threatened to withdraw from the broad coalition of groups backing a path toward elections.

“The nomination of ElBaradei violates the roadmap that the political and national powers had agreed on with General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi,” the Nour Party’s deputy leader, Ahmed Khalil, told the state-run al-Ahram newspaper.

Many Islamists view ElBaradei as a leader who is decidedly uninterested in giving them a say in Egypt’s affairs.

“Baradei in a way is kind of the ultimate liberal,” said Shadi Hamid, an Egypt expert at the Brookings Doha Center. “He has a very antagonistic relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, which is why it doesn’t bode well for Brotherhood reintegration” if he were to come to power.

Just as the democratically elected Morsi experienced a remarkable fall from grace this week, ElBaradei’s unelected rise to the position of prime minister would have marked a remarkable turnaround for a politician who has struggled to find popular support outside Egypt’s urban, educated classes, in a country where roughly half the population lives on less than $2 a day.

Before the decision to award ElBaradei the office was apparently reversed, state television broadcast images of him meeting with Mansour at the presidential palace. It was the first time Mansour had worked from the presidential palace since he took power on Thursday, hours after Wednesday evening’s coup. Mansour also met with representatives from the Nour Party and from the Tamarod protest group that organized the protests last weekend that brought millions out onto the streets of Egypt against Morsi’s rule.

Even before Egypt’s 2011 revolution, ElBaradei — the 2005 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize — had been a harsh critic of former president Hosni Mubarak, who had led the country for three decades.

But his long career outside Egypt, first as a diplomat with Egypt’s Foreign Ministry and then at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, led critics in Egypt to say he was more recognizable abroad than at home. He was director general of the nuclear watchdog from 1997 until 2009. Upon returning to Egypt, he spoke out against Mubarak, working with others — including the then-banned Muslim Brotherhood — to campaign against the leader.

That alliance withered after the 2011 revolution. On Thursday, ElBaradei told CNN he believed Egypt needs a more inclusive government than the one Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood had created during their 368 days in power, saying that Egypt had risked a “civil war” before the military stepped in to push Morsi out of office.

Graphic

Military rule in Egypt

Although he said he wanted a role for members of the Muslim Brotherhood as well as ultraconservative Salafist Muslim political groups, he has also defended the shutdown of Islamist television networks that has deprived Morsi supporters a platform to broadcast their views domestically in the days since the coup.

More than a dozen top Muslim Brotherhood officials, and a lawyer who represents the group, remained in detention on Saturday, said Heba Morayef, an Egypt researcher for Human Rights Watch.

With Morsi supporters holding firm to their demands for his return to the presidency, the discussions over new political leadership Saturday took place as clashes continued around the country. Near Cairo University, a site of conflict between Morsi supporters and security forces in recent days, an encamped group of Morsi backers were reinforcing barricades and preparing for more conflict. At least one man in the crowd fired a gun into the air.

“Everything since Sisi announced the detention of Morsi and the suspension of the constitution has been illegal,” said Medhat Ahmed, a lawyer who had at his feet a plastic bag filled with rocks. “The appointment of this prime minister is illegal and illegitimate in our eyes.”

In Washington, the White House issued a statement Saturday saying that President Obama had convened a meeting of the National Security Council to review the situation in Egypt and that the president “condemned the ongoing violence.” It also rejected what it said were claims that the United States is seeking to dictate the course of Egypt’s transition, saying, “The future path of Egypt can only be determined by the Egyptian people.”

In the early hours of Saturday morning, Morsi’s Islamist supporters fought brutal street battles with the ousted president’s opponents. The violence left at least 30 people dead and more than 1,000 injured across the country, according to Egypt’s Health Ministry.

Also Saturday, a Coptic Christian priest was shot dead in broad daylight in Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula, a local police commander said. Attackers on motorbikes shot the priest, Mena Aboud, in his car in al-Arish, near the border with the Gaza Strip, the commander said. But it was not immediately clear whether the killing was connected with Morsi’s ouster.

Fog of Coup continues......

Egyptian Opposition Leader ElBaradei Accepts Interim Prime Minister Role

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/06/2013 13:07 -0400

Iran

As the pro-Morsi Islamist coalition calls for widespread protests on Sunday against the military coup that just occurred in their nation,Al Jazeera is reporting that Mohamed ElBaradei(infamous for his strong stance against the US as UN nuclear watchdog amid the Iran WMD controversy) has accepted the role of interim Prime Minister. Following the last few days violence, where dozens have been killed post-coup, we suspect the Islamist coalition will be even more antagonized by this next step. Of course, realistically, until the US decides which side it wants to commit to, nothing will settle down in the re-couping nation.

US leaders on top of things ?

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/john_kerry_was_fiddling_with_his_ekJ427pk6jHPSnEtgiPCnN

Secretary of State John Kerry fiddles with his rigging while Egypt burns

By MICHAEL BLAUSTEIN
Last Updated: 7:51 PM, July 5, 2013
Posted: 4:10 PM, July 5, 2013

Secretary of State John Kerry spent time lounging around on his yacht Wednesday while the Egyptian military was deposing their country's democratically elected president Mohammed Morsi, according to various reports.

When Kerry was first spotted on his yatch, called "Isabel," near his vacation home in Nantucket, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki called the report "completely inaccurate" saying that the Secretary of State had been "working all day and on the phone dealing with the crisis in Egypt," according to CBS News.

Psaki even went so far as to deny that Kerry was even on the boat.

New: @CBSNews obtained photo of Kerry on boat Weds. Asked State abt it Thurs night. They stood by their denial... pic.twitter.com/hkSWWBVUxQ

2:39 PM - 5 Jul 2013

However, Psaki has now completely reversed course and acknowledges that Kerry "briefly" spent time on his boat Wednesday where he "worked around the clock all day including participating in the President's meeting with his national security council."

Seemingly oblivious to Kerry's recreational activities, the White House released a photo of President Obama meeting with his top security team to talk about Egypt on Wednesday. Kerry is not in the photograph.

REUTERS

President Barack Obama meets with members of his national security team to discuss the situation in Egypt, in the Situation Room of the White House on July 3, 2013. Secretary of State John Kerry is not in the room.

Adding insult to injury, Kerry was again spotted sailing on his yacht while pro-Morsi protestors clashed with the Egyptian military today.

Just caught in last hour: Kerry back at the helm of his boat today (front boat/center). Again this is from today pic.twitter.com/TIYbkOaae7

12:48 PM - 5 Jul 2013

Not to be outdone, President Obama tweeted a picture of himself kayaking late Friday afternoon with the caption "Have a great weekend."

@BarakObama via Twitter

President Obama tweeted this picture Friday afternoon with the caption "Have a great weekend."

http://www.juancole.com/2013/07/brotherhood-hundreds-wounded.html

Brotherhood, Army risk Civil War: 30 Dead, Hundreds Wounded

Posted on 07/06/2013 by Juan Cole

Egypt veered sharply toward the looming specter of civil war on Friday, as the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood continued to call for resistance to the overthrow of Muhammad Morsi, who had been the elected head of state before the army deposed him on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the military had arrested the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Muhammad Badie, at Marsa Matrouh and brought him by helicopter to Cairo. Apparently they were attempting to intimidate him into accepting Morsi’s overthrow and wanted him to call on his followers to go home and prepare for the upcoming elections. The officers released Badie Friday morning and allowed him to address the enormous crowd of Morsi supporters at the Rabia al-Adawiya Mosque.

If Badie did make any agreement with the military, he reneged on it when he mounted the dais. He called for the Muslim Brotherhood to go into resistance and to attempt to restore Morsi to power, saying people should stay in the streets and refuse to be shooed away.

For the military to remove Morsi was dangerous and unwise. But for the Brotherhood to attempt to bring Morsi back by street action is also dangerous and unwise.

As a result of Badie’s fiery and defiant speech, Muslim Brothers tried to invade the grounds of the Revolutionary Guards barracks where they thought Morsi was being held; local troops warned them off, but when they kept coming, they opened fire and killed three. Hundreds of thousands of pro-Morsi demonstrators remained in the square in front of the Rabi`a al-`Adawiya Mosque.

Other Muslim Brothers crossed 6th of October Bridge in Cairo and most went to the state television station at Maspero, where they demonstrated, then ultimately dispersed. A group of Muslim Brothers, when they got across the bridge, headed straight for Tahrir Square, allegedly attacking the anti-Morsi youth there. Some fundamentalists deployed firearms. The other youth responded with rock-throwing and then began shooting fireworks at the Brotherhood attackers. The soccer fanatics and other Tahrir militants pushed the Brotherhood back across the bridge. Ultimately the army closed the bridge, but many hours after it should have.

Some 12 of the 30 dead on Friday died in clashes in Alexandria, the country’s second-largest city, in the biggest demonstrations for two years. The Brotherhood maintained that they were fired on when they demonstrated in favor of Morsi there, and that the police took the side of the attackers, deploying tear gas against the right wing crowd.

In the Delta depot town of Damanhour, 25 were wounded in fighting between pro-Morsi and anti-Morsi factions.

In the Suez canal port of Ismailia, Morsi supporters attempted to storm the offices of the governor, but withdrew when troops began firing over their heads. I heard one report on Friday of 100 wounded in Ismailiya.

In Luxor, Egyptian troops and police used tear gas to stop pro-Morsi fundamentalists from invading the Coptic Bishopric.

In Tanta, a march in support of Morsi was launched from Salam Mosque and there was a demonstration at the town center.

In Bani Suef, pro-Morsi demonstrators tried to take over the barracks of the military police, while anti-Morsi forces staged a counter-rally.

Five Egyptian troops were killed in separate incidents in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. The city of El Arish is in open rebellion, and Alarabiya reported that rebels were flying the black al-Qaeda flag there.

It is difficult to know the size of the rallies or numbers of persons involved in the provincial clashes. Some reports speak of “hundreds” coming out, which local police should be able to deal with if they get out of hand. If enough pro-Morsi people do as Badie ordered and stay in the streets until Morsi is reinstated, Egypt will be in for a long summer of discontent.

http://rt.com/news/clashes-cairo-protesters-gunfire-713/

Mohammed Sultan, deputy head of Egypt's national ambulance service said that 36 people were killed on Friday during violent clashes between supporters and opponents of deposed President Morsi. 1,138 more were injured, according to the Health Ministry.

Some of the worst violence was reported in Alexandria, where 14 people lost their lives.

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi (back) clash with anti-Mursi protesters near Maspero, Egypt's state TV and radio station, near Tahrir square in Cairo July 5, 2013. (Reuters / Amr Dalsh)

Tens of thousands of people marched across the country in what the Muslim Brotherhood movement has called a "Friday of Rage".

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Street battles broke out in at least eight areas of Cairo and in other parts of the country, with some celebrating the fall of the democratically elected leader and others who feared the return of military rule Egypt has struggled to put in the past.

Gunfire, molotov cocktails, pro-Morsi right below us, clashes with military #Egypt #Tahrir #Jun30

1:54 после полудня - 5 июля 2013

The clashes accelerated as the supreme leader of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood Mohammed Badie addressed the protesters proclaiming that his followers would not give up street action until the return of the president.

“God make Morsi victorious and bring him back to the palace,” Badie roused supporters at a Cairo mosque during what was his first appearance since the overthrow. “We are his soldiers we defend him with our lives.”

After Badie’s speech, a large crowd of Islamists moved across 6th October Bridge over the Nile toward Tahrir Square, where scores of Morsi’s opponents had been massed all day.

In Cairo, three hours of street fighting eased after the army deployed troops and vehicles, to keep rival sides apart, Reuters reports.

In total five people were killed and another 199 injured when the Muslim Brotherhood attacked in the area of the Oct 6th Bridge, Al Arabiya says citing Egypt's ambulance service.

Also three people were fatally shot outside Cairo’s Republican Guard barracks where Morsi is being held. The army has denied responsibility for the shooting but the incident sparked outrage that has yet to subside. It was not immediately clear whether other security forces may have been behind the shooting.

A car was set on fire amid a barrage of fireworks put to use as weapons. Later reports suggested that further shots and tear gas had been fired.

Helicopters were flying overhead as ambulances tried to tend to the wounded, according to RT's Paula Slier.

Central security forces arriving on the scene, shots fired, tear gas shot #egypt

3:32 после полудня - 5 июля 2013

Despite suspending the Egyptian constitution after removing Morsi from power, the army has pledged to hold democratic elections and maintain an interim government, although a timetable has yet to be released. A new prime minister could be named as early as Saturday, Reuters reports.

Protesters were also spotted hurling stones off a bridge while fireworks went off. Thick plumes of black smoke emanated from small street fires as Egyptians scattered in different directions. Gunshots have also been reported throughout the country.

Helicopters are flying overhead and ambulances are arriving on the scene according to RT's Paula Slier.

Injured protestors being hurried away in ambulances from October 6 bridge #Tahrir

2:52 после полудня - 5 июля 2013

Protesters cheer upon the arrival of the Egyptian Security Forces during clashes between ousted president Mohamed Morsi supporters and anti-Morsi protesters near Egypt's landmark Tahrir square on July 5, 2013 in Cairo, Egypt. (AFP Photo / Mohamed El-Shahed)

Protesters were also spotted hurling stones off a bridge while fireworks went off. Thick plumes of black smoke emanated from small street fires as Egyptians scattered in different directions. Gunshots have also been reported throughout the country.

People have been running in a disorientated manner through plumes of thick smoke, with some traffic caught in the middle and lots of small fires being started. Protesters hurled stones from the bridge as the fireworks went off.

Video Pro-Morsi supporters bunkering down breaking pavement to use as stones by state TV #egypt http://instagram.com/p/bZOR67nEJa/ 

2:23 после полудня - 5 июля 2013

Ousted president Mohamed Morsi supporters and anti Morsi protesters hurl stones at each other as they clash near Egypt's landmark Tahrir square on July 5, 2013 in Cairo. (AFP Photo / Mohamed El-Shahed)

The loud bangs emanating from the fireworks have been interspersed with gunshots, according to eyewitnesses.

I'm not sure what type of guns are being used, but definitely heard birdshot, and probably heavier weapons as well. #Tahrir

2:14 после полудня - 5 июля 2013

Automatic gunfire heard on October 6 bridge. Not sure who is firing in what direction #egypt

3:34 после полудня - 5 июля 2013

Large pro-Morsi crowd outside Egypt's state TV building. Close to the anti-Morsi crowds in Tahrir Sq... pic.twitter.com/GqjjQPLPc0

1:50 после полудня - 5 июля 2013

Military helicopters flew overhead as a large pro-Morsi crowd headed in the direction of the state 'Maspero' TV building in Cairo. Three people were reportedly killed when violence broke out with the anti-Morsi crowds not far away.

Anti-Mursi protesters run during clashes with members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi near Maspero, Egypt's state TV and radio station, near Tahrir square in Cairo July 5, 2013. (Reuters / Amr Dalsh)

In addition to Friday's violence in the capital, the Sidi Jaber district of Alexandria was badly hit, as pro-Morsi protesters lobbed stones and Molotov cocktails at police cars blocking the streets. At least 14 people have been killed in Alexandria, according to Reuters.

Five police officers were killed in separate incidents in the North Sinai town of El Arish. It was not immediately clear whether the attacks were linked to Morsi's ouster.

RT’s correspondent in Egypt also reported violent demonstrations in Giza as she accidently walked into clashes there.

Accidentally walked into the clashes which have spilled over into giza.no idea what's going on but can hear gunfire,ambulances ferrying ppl

3:23 после полудня - 5 июля 2013

Over the course of the protests, according to Ministry of Health data released on June 30, 62 people have died and more than 2,500 have been injured. At least 39 people have been killed since Sunday, and as many as 160 instances of sexual assault have been reported.

Protesters, who are against former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, demonstrate near pro-Morsi supporters, near Tahrir Square in Cairo July 5, 2013. (Reuters / Asmaa Waguih)

http://www.juancole.com/2013/07/brotherhood-hundreds-wounded.html An anti-Morsi protester shows spent shell casings and rubber bullets during clashes with members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi near Maspero, Egypt's state TV and radio station, near Tahrir square in Cairo July 5, 2013. (Reuters / Amr Dalsh)

An anti-Morsi protester shows spent shell casings and rubber bullets during clashes with members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi near Maspero, Egypt's state TV and radio station, near Tahrir square in Cairo July 5, 2013. (Reuters / Amr Dalsh)

and from ala jazeera.......

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/07/2013767313227438.html

Egypt tense after night-long clashes

Supporters of ousted president call for more demonstrations following violent clashes that left 30 dead across country.

Last Modified: 06 Jul 2013 13:09

A tense calm has descended on Egypt after a night of fierce clashes between supporters and opponents of the ousted President Mohamed Morsi.
At least 30 people were killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the violence that erupted on Friday and continued through the night.
A coalition of conservative groups led by Muslim Brotherhood has vowed further demonstrations on Saturday, raising fears of renewed violence.The coalition is demanding the restoration of Morsi as president. He was deposed three days ago in a military coup.

Battle lines remain drawn as anti-Morsi protesters spent the night in Cairo's Tahrir Square, with checkpoints manned by civilians. Pro-Morsi supporters have also vowed to come on to the streets to press their demand.
"The masses will continue their civilised protests and peaceful sit-ins in Cairo until the military coup is reversed and the legitimate president is restored," the Brotherhood-led coalition said in an early morning statement on Saturday.
Meanwhile, a deputy leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, former presidential candidate Khairat El-Shater, has been arrested.
Security sources said on Saturday that Shater, a wealthy businessman seen as the movement's main political strategist, was taken into custody on suspicion of incitement to violence.
Mohamed Badie, the top leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, gave a defiant speech on Friday to a crowd of Morsi supporters and vowed to protect Morsi's presidency.
"God make Morsi victorious and bring him back to the palace," he said in the speech, which was partially aired on state TV. "We are his soldiers, we defend him with our lives."
A new Islamist group also announced its formation in Egypt, calling the army's ousting of Morsi a declaration of war on its faith and threatening to use violence to impose Islamic law.
Ansar al-Shariah in Egypt said it would gather arms and start training its members, in a statement posted on an online forum for fighters in the country's Sinai region on Friday.
Violence through the night
Friday's clashes were triggered by the death of three Morsi supporters - reportedly killed by gunfire as they tried to march towards the military barracks where Morsi is believed to be held.
Morsi supporters blamed the military for the incident, a claim rejected by the army.

Join the discussion. #EgyptSpeaks

Rival groups also clashed near Tahrir Square. The overnight fighting finally subsided when the army separated the warring groups using armoured vehicles.
"We are not taking sides. Our mission is to secure the lives of protesters," military spokesman Colonel Ahmed Ali told AFP news agency.
Meanwhile, the US condemned the fighting and urged all sides, including the army, to stop the violence.
"We condemn the violence that has taken place today in Egypt. We call on all Egyptian leaders to condemn the use of force and to prevent further violence among their supporters," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.
"We expect the military to ensure that the rights of all Egyptians are protected, including the right to peaceful assembly, and we call on all who are protesting to do so peacefully."
A spokesman for the UN chief Ban Ki-moon quoted him calling for a peaceful end to the crisis.
"There is no place for retribution or for the exclusion of any major party or community," Ban reportedly said.
Cairo in chaos
After nightfall on Friday, a crowd of Morsi supporters marched from Nasr City, a district of Cairo, towards the Maspero state TV building and clashed with anti-Morsi protesters on the 6th October Bridge, which is located over the Nile River.
One man was seen apparently firing a gun, while gunshots could he heard in the area. People were seen throwing rocks as the two sides advanced and retreated in turn on the bridge near Tahrir Square.
Four protesters were killed outside the Republican Guard headquarters after breaking away from a pro-Morsi demonstration, the official MENA news agency reported.
MENA also said that 12 people were killed in Alexandria.
Rioting was also reported in Al Manial district, an island in the Nile River, between Cairo and Giza, according to state TV.
Five policemen had been killed in the northern Sinai town of El-Arish, after a soldier was also killed in the region.
Egyptian armed forces denied reports that a state of emergency had been declared in the troubled Sinai Peninsula, and that curfews had been imposed.

Catharsis Ours

Saturday, July 6, 2013