|
Egypt Sits on a Knife’s Edge
13 August 2013
(EIRNS)—The Egyptian police appeared to have postponed once again their threat to end two Cairo sit-ins where tens of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members have gathered since July 3 to protest the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, leaving in place a tense six-week-old standoff. Egypt’s Interim President Adly Mansour has convened today a National Security Council meeting that began on how to deal with the Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins. The terrorism in Sinai is said to be on the agenda as well, according to Ahram Online. Today, the Brothers upped the ante when some hundreds of them started marching from Fatah mosque to downtown Cairo without revealing their destination. The march culminated outside the Egyptian High Constitutional Court. The sit-in outside the court was only announced once the marchers reached the court’s parameters. Reports indicate that the pro-Morsi protesters have since ended a 2-hour sit-in this on afternoon. In addition, aggravating the situation, Brothers have rejected mediation The effect of the paralysis caused by the Brotherhood’s action has become visible. Over the past week, several areas in Egypt saw blackouts for the first time since the ouster of President Morsi as fuel quantities supplied to power units by the petroleum ministry fell short of meeting demand. According to the official, the ministry suffers liquidity problems preventing it from covering the cost of importing petroleum products, as it is owed LE151 billion (roughly $21.6 billion) by other governmental bodies. [RMA] |