CAIRO: In a last-ditch effort to defame the protesters in front of Egypt's Cabinet building in downtown Cairo, Egypt's interim ruling military council announced that it has uncovered a civilian plot to burn down the parliament building. General Adel Emara, a member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), said he “received a call now to say that a plot was uncovered today to burn parliament and there are now large crowds in Tahrir Square ready to implement the plan,” disrupting a press conference to make the announcement. A military confrontation with protesters in the area has continued for the third consecutive day, with 13 reported dead and 700 injured in the violence so far, as the military uses brute force and live ammunition to remove protesters from a sit-in staged in front of the parliament. The sit-in, which started three weeks ago when the nomination of Egypt's new Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri was announced, remained peaceful until the army attempted to forcibly remove protesters from the area around 4:30 AM on Friday morning. Protesters rushed to the scene to defend the protest from the military crackdown, and have been engaged in clashes with soldiers since. Meanwhile, protesters and civilians have gathered in a library on the outskirts of Tahrir Square to salvage historic documents and texts there were ravaged in a fire that broke out in the building amid the clashes. The interim ruling military council said that soldiers have clashed with protesters in the area because they intend on damaging government buildings, claiming to protect the area. The Muslim Brotherhood issued a statement on Monday, condemning the ongoing violence and speaking to this discourse. “Evidently, burning or destroying such government buildings and facilities can only serve the interests of the enemies of the Egyptian revolution. They must rid their ranks of vicious thugs hired to destroy Egypt, its facilities and its people,” the statement reads. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/kgZNl Tags: featured Section: Egypt, Latest News
