Mufti condemns violence GRAND Mufti Shawki Allam said on Monday that Islam “forbids” possessing arms during peaceful demonstrations. Allam condemned “violence and terrorism in all its forms” and deplored the “destruction” and violations committed against religious buildings, in reference to a flurry of torching dozens of churches in several parts of the country in recent days. “If a ship is sinking, nobody will survive. Egypt is our ship that we should protect,” said Allam. The mufti urged security apparatuses to vigorously enforce the law and hold violators to account. Allam said, “A good word could stop the bloodshed and draw opponents closer, and a wicked word might lead to loss of lives and deepen the rift.” The spiraling violence has drawn a chorus of condemnation from Western states, with the EU holding an emergency meeting on Monday to pressure Egypt's interim government to end one of Egypt's worst bloodbaths in modern history.
NSF against terrorism THE NATIONAL Salvation Front (NSF), said on Monday that Egypt is facing attacks from “organised terrorist groups”, and that the country is still determined to follow the roadmap to democratic civilian rule. NSF members said in a press conference that the attacks early Monday on army conscripts in Sinai is part of an organised terrorist war on the country and its people. The attacks targeted conscripts heading to their barracks in Rafah, killing 25 and injuring two. The victims were hand tied and laid facing the ground and then murdered. “Egypt is facing violence and attempts to overthrow the state by the Muslim Brotherhood. Both the state with all its institutions along with its people are facing one enemy and that is terrorism,” said the statement. The front praised the “historic” role of the army and police facing the attacks that “aim to destroy the country and its people”. It also praised the role of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain in supporting the Egyptian transitional government in its “war against terrorism”. They also criticised some countries' “double-standards” towards the current Egyptian situation. The NSF has suffered internal divisions since the bloody crackdown on the pro-Mohamed Morsi sit-ins in Rabaa Al-Adaweya and Nahda Square, leaving at least 600 dead after the dispersal and subsequent clashes. It said, however, that it is a coalition of political parties and that the absence of some individuals from the press conference does not hinder the NSF's mission.
Jail break questions THE PROSECUTION ordered the arrest of two policemen after 37 supporters of Islamist deposed president Mohamed Morsi died as authorities were transporting them to prison on Sunday. The interior minister said a forensic report revealed the men died from asphyxiation in the back of a crammed police van after police fired tear gas to thwart a mass jail break. More than 600 suspects were being transported to the Abu Zaabal prison on the outskirts of Cairo when they took an officer hostage, prompting police to fire rounds of tear gas to free him. Also summoned for questioning are two unidentified victims being treated at a hospital and a policeman. The Muslim Brotherhood has called for an international investigation into what they called a “heinous crime”.
Journalist shot TAMER Abdel-Raouf, manager of Al-Ahram office in Beheira, was shot dead on Monday evening a few hours after the beginning of the state-imposed curfew of 7pm. Abdel-Raouf was returning from a meeting with the governor of Beheira, a Nile Delta province, and was driving with his colleague Hamed Al-Barbari, the manager of the local office of Al-Gomhuriya newspaper. The pair were returning to their homes in the town of Kafr Al-Dawwar. A statement issued by the military indicated that the journalists had refused to stop at a checkpoint “and rammed it with their vehicle which caused the forces to suspect their actions forcing them to shoot”. According to Al-Barbari, however, a military checkpoint on the route refused to allow them to pass and started shooting, leaving Abdel-Raouf dead and Al-Barbari wounded. Journalists and media personnel are officially exempt from the curfew.
