UK ‘Deeply Concerned’ about Risk of Violence in Egypt After Eid

The UK has warned of more violence in Egypt after Eid Al-Fitr if the authorities insisted on breaking up the sit-ins being held by supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi in Cairo.

Egypt’s Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi said on Wednesday the decision to disperse sit-ins in Cairo’s Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square and Giza’s Al-Nahda Square is final, calling on protesters to leave the demonstrations as soon as possible.

“We are deeply concerned about the risk of violence at the end of Ramadan,” a UK Foreign Office spokesman told Ahram Online, appealing to all sides for calm.

The UK has called repeatedly on the Egyptian authorities and opposition to refrain from violence, and held the security forces responsible for the loss of dozens of lives in violence since Morsi’s ouster on 3 July.

“The Foreign Secretary strongly condemned the use of force against protestors on 27 July which led to the loss of lives,” the spokesman said, referring to clashes near the Rabaa sit-in which killed at least 80 pro-Morsi suporters.

He also expresses his country’s disappointment at the failure of foreign mediation between the army-installed government and Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters.

The UK has been supporting the mediation efforts by international envoys from the EU, US and various European countries, among others.

The British government has repeatedly stated that Egypt needs an inclusive political process which leads to early and fair elections, which all parties are able to contest.

Source:Al-Ahram Online