Backbencher
BANNED
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2011
- Messages
- 2,291
- Reaction score
- -1
- Country
- Location
In this January 28, 2013 photo,
Egyptian protesters celebrate
the capture of a security vehicle
that demonstrators
commandeered during clashes
with security forces and brought
to nearby Tahrir Square in
Cairo.
Egypts Army chief warned on
Tuesday of the the collapse of
the state if the political crisis
roiling the nation for nearly a
week continues.
The warning by Abdel-Fattah
el-Sissi, who is also Defence
Minister, were the first
comments by the powerful
military since the countrys
latest crisis began last week
around the second anniversary
of Egypts uprising. They came
days after President Mohamed
Morsy ordered the Army to
restore order in the Suez Canal
cities of Port Said and Suez two
of three cities now under a 30-
day state of emergency and
night curfew.
The attempts by Mr. Morsy to
stem a wave of political
violence appear to have made
no headway as the country
sinks deeper into chaos and
lawlessness. So far, nearly 60
people have been killed in five
days of unrest.
The continuation of the
conflict between the different
political forces and their
differences over how the
country should be run could
lead to the collapse of the state
and threaten future
generations, Mr. el-Sissi said
in an address to military
academy cadets. His comments
were posted on the armed
forces official Facebook page.
On Sunday night, Mr. Morsy
slapped a month-long state of
emergency and a night curfew
on Port Said, Suez and
Ismailiya, another city on the
Suez canal.
Nevertheless, troops stood by
and watched on Monday night
as thousands took to the streets
chanting against Mr. Morsy in
all three cities in direct
defiance of the curfew just as it
came into force for the first
night at 9 p.m. The display of
contempt for the presidents
decision was tantamount to an
outright rebellion that many
worried could spread.
Some of the demonstrators in
Port Said waved white-and-
green flags they said were the
colours of a new and
independent state in the city.
Such secession would be
unthinkable in Egypt, but the
move underlined the depth of
frustration in the strategic city
on the Mediterranean coast at
the northern tip of the Suez
Canal.
Mr. el-Sissi, who was named
Defence Minister in August,
acknowledged the difficult
challenges facing his troops in
the cities where they deployed.
The deployment of the armed
forces poses a grave
predicament for us insofar as
how we balance avoiding
confrontations with Egyptian
citizens, their right to protest
and the protection and security
of vital facilities that impact
Egypts national security, he
said.
The wave of unrest has touched
cities across the country since
Thursday, including Cairo, the
three Suez Canal cities,
Alexandria on the
Mediterranean in the north and
a string of cities in the Nile
Delta.
The violence first erupted on
Thursday and accelerated
Friday when protests marking
the two-year anniversary of the
2001 uprising turned to clashes
around the country that left 11
dead, most of them in Suez.
The next day, riots exploded in
Port Said after a court
convicted and sentenced to
death 21 defendants mostly
locals for a mass soccer riot in
the citys main stadium a year
ago. Rioters attacked police
stations, clashed with security
forces in the streets and shots
and tear gas were fired at
protester funerals in mayhem
that left 44 people dead over
the weekend.
Egypt Army chief warns state could collapse - The Hindu: Mobile Edition
.
