Egypt sees mixed domestic reactions over clearing pro-Morsi protests

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Egypt sees mixed domestic reactions over clearing pro-Morsi protests

(Xinhua) 10:50, August 15, 2013

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CAIRO, Aug. 14 -- The dispersal of ousted President Mohamed Morsi's supporters in the two major camps in Egypt on Wednesday triggered mixed reactions domestically.

As Egyptian security forces managed to control Rabaa Al Adawiya square in Cairo's Nasr City and al-Nahda square in Giza, where the protesters staged an open-ended sit-in since June 28, at least 278 people, including 43 policemen, were killed and more than 2,000 injured across Egypt, Health Ministry said.

Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Egypt's top Sunni Islamic institution Al-Azhar, urged all Egyptians to exercise self-restraint and to be prudent with the view to protecting the sanctity of the Egyptian blood.

In a brief televised statement on Wednesday, he urged all political factions to respond to the national reconciliation efforts. He made it clear that he had no prior knowledge of the measures taken to disperse the sit-ins by force.

The Egyptian authorities have been duty bound to disperse the sits-ins at Rabaa El-Adawiya and Nahda squares ever since the people mandated them to fight violence and terrorism on July 26, the Wafd Liberal Party said on Wednesday.

The right of peaceful protest and freedom of expression is guaranteed, but the protesters at both squares were not peaceful protesters. They were hiding weapons, the party said.

In its statement, the party accused the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), to which Morsi belongs, of being responsible for the unrest in the country.

The MB's inciting speeches and their defiance of the state and disrespect of the will of the majority of the people and of the army escalated the situation, and deepened the polarization, it said.

Former presidential candidate Amr Moussa said "the whole Egyptian society should stand against any attempt to raise strife on the current incidents."

"Decision to disperse MB sit-ins was crucial," said the founder of Free Egyptians Party and businessman Naguib Sawiris.

In a phone interview with CNN, Sawiris said that no one accepts sit-ins which block the roads and cripple the economic development.

"We support people, army, police against terrorism," said Popular Current leader and ex-presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi.

On his twitter account, Sabahi wrote "we will support our people, army and police against the terrorism of those who monopolized the people's will."

From his part, Abdel-Moneim Aboul-Fotouh, ex-presidential candidate who was a leading member of MB, said he has contacted senior state officials and asked them to take the necessary decision to stop the bloodshed immediately.

Aboul-Fotouh said the security solution will drag the country into a wave of violence and chaos.

Ultra-conservative al-Nour Party, Egypt's second largest Islamist party after the MB's Freedom and Justice Party, called on Wednesday for an end to political violence to avoid splitting the society into two factions.

The al-Nour Party said it held the army responsible for the bloodshed after security forces moved against supporters of Morsi.

Also the hard-line Dawaa Salafya (Salafist Call) urged the cabinet to resign over the bloody crackdown on the protesters.

In a statement the movement condemned the violent clashes, warning against dragging the country into mobilization of both sides, which will negatively affect the unity of the society.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry has formed a working group of senior officials to follow up foreign reactions over the current political turmoil in Egypt.

The group supplies Egyptian embassies abroad with all required details and also follows up foreign media coverage of the current events in Egypt, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.