Fresh violence hit Egypt Thursday, with Islamists going on the counterattack a day after a crackdown on supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi sparked clashes that killed hundreds and drew international censure. The country awakened to an unusual calm after an overnight curfew imposed by the army-backed government, but Morsi supporters vowed to rally again to demand his reinstatement and violence erupted as the day progressed.
Islamists attacked police facilities in the Sinai and the central city of Assiut, killing two policemen, and also torched the headquarters of the provincial government in Giza, near the capital.
In Alexandria, hundreds of Morsi supporters cut the road on the corniche, chanting for their deposed president, state media reported.
In Beni Sueif province, they took to the streets to denounce the police and army crackdown Wednesday on two protest camps in Cairo that sparked nationwide clashes in which at least 525 people died.
The Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails, said a march was planned later Thursday from the Al-Iman mosque in the capital “to protest the death of their relatives”.
And spokesman Gehad al-Haddad said demonstrations would continue.
“We will always be non-violent and peaceful. We remain strong, defiant and resolved,” he tweeted. “We will push forward until we bring down this military coup.”
Morsi loyalists have insisted their demonstrations are exclusively peaceful, but an AFP reporter saw several protesters carrying weapons at Rabaa al-Adawiya, one of the camps, on Wednesday.
In Cairo, trucks cleared debris from the charred sites there and at the Nahda Square protest camp, both occupied for weeks by Morsi loyalists after he was ousted by the military on July 3.
As the death toll from the carnage soared, condemnation of the assaults poured in, with France warning of the threat of “civil war” and Turkey demanding UN action.
The United States led a global outcry against the “deplorable” violence, while Paris, London, Berlin and Rome summoned Egypt’s ambassadors to voice their strong concern.
The White House said Washington, which provides Egypt with $1.3 billion in annual military aid, “strongly condemns” the violence against the protesters and opposed the imposition of a state of emergency.
It said President Barack Obama would make a statement on the crisis at 1415 GMT Thursday.
-With AFP input
