Mohamed Morsi
Coming to Grips with Terrorism in Egypt a Year after the Raba’a Square Massacre
Raba’a Square during the dispersal of Mursi supporter sit-ins (Source: Wikipedia user AMGS07)
Before the June 30, 2013 coup that overthrew Muhammad Mursi, Egypt’s first civilian elected president, terrorist operations in Egypt were far fewer in number and scale, focusing mainly on blowing up gas pipelines supplying Egyptian gas to neighboring Israel. However, after the violent crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood supporters orchestrated by then-Defense Minister Abd al-Fatah al-Sisi in the summer of 2013, radicalism became viewed as the only means of expressing critical views of the political system.
This rise in terrorism enabled al-Sisi to strike fear amongst grassroots Egyptians and pose as a national savior despite excluding all peaceful ways of dissent and arguably provoking much of the violence that followed the Raba’a, Nahda and the Abu Zaabal massacres in 2013. Read the rest of this entry »
Egypt death penalty verdict triggers global outcry
AP Mohamed Morsy. File photo
An Egyptian court on Monday sentenced 529 supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy to death.
The death sentence passed by an Egyptian court against 529 supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy has triggered an outcry against the verdict among a wide cross-section of the legal community at home as well as influential human rights groups abroad.
The stunning verdict that has put hundreds on death row was issued by an Upper Egyptian court in the city of Minya. The defendants were found guilty of murdering Mostafa El-Attar, deputy commander of a local police station, who was killed during riots that followed the storming by security forces of two pro-Morsy sit-ins in August last.
Egypt blames Muslim Brotherhood for ‘expected’ electricity crisis
Electricity outages have become a common occurrence in several Egyptian provinces.
By Hussein Qabani
CAIRO – Egyptian officials have blamed the Muslim Brotherhood for an “expected” electricity crisis, accusing the Islamist group of destroying several electric transmission towers.
“This is a government attempt to politicize economic ills,” Ahmed Abul Nour, an economics professor at the American University in Cairo, told Anadolu Agency on Saturday.
Several Egyptian government officials have recently accused the Brotherhood, from which ousted president Mohamed Morsi hails, of destroying electric transmission towers.
Interim Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi had said that the Brotherhood “was targeting transmission towers in remote areas”.
“By doing this, darkness will blanket the whole country and affect hospitals, patients and factories,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
Egyptian army launches campaign to create buffer zone on Gaza border
Published 15/02/2014 21:22
(MaanImages/file)
CAIRO (Ma’an) — Egyptian border forces destroyed 10 tunnels and seven homes in the Sinai on Saturday as part of new campaign to create a buffer zone along the border with the Gaza Strip that would extend 500 meters in some places.
The campaign began with a military operation in the border town of Rafah, where tunnels leading into the Gaza Strip were targeted in the neighborhoods of al-Brahma, al-Sarsuriya, Salahudeen, al-Helwat, and Zoraba, an Egyptian security source said.
The security source added that the tunnels were destroyed and the homes they were located in were subsequently blown up.
He explained that the move was part of a wider campaign to set up a buffer zone along the border with Gaza in Rafah that would extend 300 meters in populated areas and 500 meters in open areas.
The Muslim Brotherhood/Al-Qaeda Connection
Originally published by CBN.com.
As former Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi’s trials continue, it’s enlightening to consider what is likely to be one of the centerpieces of the trial: longstanding accusations that Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood party worked with foreign terrorist organizations, including al-Qaeda, against the national security of Egypt.
Based on these accusations of high treason, Morsi and others could face the death penalty.
Concerning some of the more severe allegations, one of Egypt’s most widely distributed and read newspapers, Al Watan, recently published what it said were recorded conversations between Morsi and Muhammad Zawahiri, al-Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri’s brother.
The Roman Gate 