Tendering action plan, PM asks parliament for support

Al-Masry Al-Youm

Prime Minister Sherif Ismail has asked for support from members of the House of Representatives as he presents the government’s proposed action plan for the coming period before MPs on Sunday.

The awaited proposal comes a few days after the Cabinet conducted a partial reshuffle of ten ministers. The parliament is constitutionally required to vote on the government’s proposed plan in 30 days' time, with a negative vote meaning that parliament would have to resign and a new government be formed.

Among the main objectives listed in the proposal are the preservation of national security, the entrenchment of democracy and administrative reform. The proposal lays out the government's plan of action from now until June 2018. The plan is meant to be aligned with Egypt's sustainable development plan agenda, running until 2030.

The PM demanded parliamentry backing as the government face “challenges”, which he listed as national security threats, soaring unemployment, deteriorating social services, widening financial gaps, poor economic competitiveness and a steady population increase —  the country having seen a rise from 77 million in 2009 to 90 million at the end of 2015.
Ismail has said that despite the country being at a "dangerous stage", that does not mean to ignore "improvements in performance". Those improvements, he explained, include a surge in economic growth rates from 2 percent to 4.2 percent and a fall in unemployment from 13.3 percent to 12.7 percent.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Chinese activist says family 'taken away' over letter calling for Xi to quit

Reuters

A New York-based Chinese Internet activist told Reuters on Friday that China's authorities have detained three members of his family in connection with an open letter calling for the resignation of President Xi Jinping.
In an interview in New York where he lives, Wen Yunchao said his parents and younger brother were "taken away" by the authorities on Tuesday and have disappeared, days after the government "harassed" his family to investigate his suspected involvement in distributing the letter.
Wen denied writing the online letter, which was signed by "a loyal Communist Party Member" and circulated widely at the beginning of China's parliament session this month. Wen also said he did not help distribute the letter, and had only linked to it on his Twitter account after the letter had been published by a Chinese news website.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm Wen's account about the disappearance of his relatives or to determine if he had any broader involvement in producing or publicizing the letter.
Calls to the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing seeking comment went unanswered. 
"There is no reasonable excuse for them to take away my parents and my brother, no matter how you look at it," Wen said, referring to authorities in China's southern Guangdong province where his family lives.
"I've told them very clearly I'm not the author of the letter, I did not aid anyone in broadcasting the letter, and third, that I did not post the letter on any website," he said.
The online letter had called for the immediate resignation of Xi and blamed him for "unprecedented problems." 
The Chinese government has consistently and strongly denied any complicity in human rights abuses, but says those who break the law must be punished.
Wen said the authorities visited his family after Liu Gang, a former student activist of China's 1989 pro-democracy Tiananmen Square protest, wrote in a blog post that Wen had authored the letter. Liu could not be reached for comment.
On Monday, the lawyer of a well-known Chinese columnist, Jia Jia, said police "took away" the columnist after he had warned former colleagues of the danger of re-publishing the letter.
Amnesty International called for China to end its "manhunt" of those it thinks had something to do with the letter.
"The authorities should call off the political hounding of those suspected to be behind the open letter and release all those detained in connection with it," William Nee, China researcher at Amnesty International, said in a statement on Friday. Nee did not specifically name Wen or his family, but issued the statement soon after reports of the detentions.
Wen said his parents told him by phone earlier this month that the authorities promised to stop harassing them if Wen disclosed to the government who wrote the letter and how it was published.
He said his sister-in-law told him on Thursday night that his family had been "taken away" three days ago.
His sister-in-law did not explain why he was not informed immediately, did not identify the people who took his relatives away, and did not take his phone calls, Wen said.
He said he inferred from his family's previous conversations with the authorities that their disappearance was related to the letter calling for Xi's resignation.
President Xi has embarked on an unprecedented effort to clamp down on the Internet and censor opinions that do not reflect those of Communist Party leaders, including by imposing tougher penalties for what the Chinese government calls spreading rumors.

Turkish military strikes PKK in northern Iraq, kills 24 militants

AFP

Reuters

Turkish warplanes struck Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq and killed 24 PKK fighters in southeast Turkey on Thursday, the army said, as the militants launched a car bomb attack on a military installation in the region.

Thursday night's bombing killed three security force members and wounded 24 at a security outpost near the southeast's largest city of Diyarbakir, the military said in a separate statement on Friday, confirming a report from security sources.

A Reuters witness said the installation suffered severe damage in the blast on the highway between Diyarbakir and the town of Lice. Security forces imposed tight security in the area and erected screens to conceal the site.

The PKK claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on one of its websites. It said 28 soldiers were killed and 32 were wounded in the attack. The army and PKK generally give vastly different death tolls for attacks and clashes. The figures could not be verified.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday 300 members of the security forces had been killed since the conflict flared up last year, triggering the heaviest clashes since the 1990s. Erdogan said the PKK losses were at least 10 times as high.

The pro-Kurdish opposition says hundreds of civilians have also been killed in the military operations which were stepped up in December.

A round-the-clock curfew was declared in areas of the Silvan district of Diyarbakir province on Friday, the local governor's office said. Such curfews have been imposed in the past to pave the way for operations against PKK militants.

In the latest in a series of air strikes in northern Iraq, Turkish F-16 and F-4 jets destroyed PKK ammunition depots and shelters in the Avasin and Basyan areas on Thursday afternoon, the military said.

Security forces also killed 24 PKK fighters on Thursday in the towns of Nusaybin, Sirnak and Yuksekova in southeast Turkey, near the borders with Syria, Iraq and Iran, it said.

More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict since the PKK launched its insurgency in 1984. The PKK, which says it is fighting for Kurdish autonomy, is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union

Works on turning Salamlek Palace into historical hotel to start tomorrow

Al-Masry Al-Youm

On Sunday, an archaeological committee will start work on converting Al-Salamlek Palace into a unique hotel. 

The renovation project aims to transform Khedive Abbas Helmy II's palace, constructed in 1892, into a brand new hotel that celebrates the historical building's finest features. The project on the palace, situated within the grounds of Al-Montaza park in Alexandria, is being headed by a committee from the Islamic, Coptic and Jewish antiquities sector of Alexandria and the northern coast.

A team of technicians, archaeologists and conservators were given access to the palace for consideration of the project, said a source from the antiquities sector, speaking on condition of anonymity. The proposed renovation project then obtained the approval of the permanent antiquities committee. 

The source added that all of the archaeological works will take place under the supervision of the antiquities ministry.

Mohamed Tamawy, spokesperson of the company that holds the palace in usufruct, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the company is preparing the site ahead of starting the works.

The project is expected to last one and half months. Equipment, construction materials and administrative offices for engineers and consultants are being transferred to the site. Supervisors from the tourism and antiquities ministries are scheduled to be present during the works. 

According to Tamawy, the project will be completed in two phases. Phase one will see the renovation of the palace interior, and phase two, the remainder of the works. LE120 million have been allocated for the project.

Mokhtar al-Kasbany, head of the archaeological committee in charge of inspecting the palace, contributed to the final draft of the renovation plans. He said the permanent committee did not express any reservations on any of the project’s terms, and approved it.

The palace was built in the late 19th Century in the Montaza district of Alexandria. It was renovated by former President Anwar al-Sadat to be an official presidential residence. The word ‘Salamlek’ means a place where men are allowed to meet, contrary to the word Haramlek, a place for women's meetings. 

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Assets freeze for rights defenders in foreign-funding case postponed to April 20

other

Aswat Masriya

The Cairo Criminal Court has postponed to April 20 its decision regarding a request to freeze the assets of human rights defenders Hossam Bahgat, Gamal Eid and two others.

The decision to freeze the activists' assets came as an investigation was reopened into the NGO foreign-funding case last week. The rights defenders are accused of receiving US$1.5 million in illegal foreign funds.

"The decision to revive the so-called '2011 foreign funding case', targeting EU partners who are crucial in the democratic development of Egypt, is of serious concern," the EU spokesperson said on Thursday.  

The case dates back to December 2011, when Egyptian authorities raided several NGOs and launched an investigation into the foreign funding the NGOs allegedly received.

The "NGO trial", as the case later came to be known, involved 43 workers in both local and foreign NGOs. Most of the defendants were convicted in 2013.

The court had also ordered the closure of the NGOs involved in the case, including the US-based International Republican Institute (IRI), National Democratic Institute (NDI) and Freedom House.

The head of the judicial committee currently investigating the case ordered a media gag on Tuesday amid rising criticism that Egyptian authorities are cracking down on civil society.  

Seventeen local rights groups have condemned the reopening of the NGO trial, describing it as part of the "escalating assault" on civil society.  

Gamal Eid, the director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and Hossam Bahgat, the founder of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) were both recently banned from travel at the Cairo International Airport.

Bahgat, who is also a contributor to Mada Masr news website, discovered he was banned from travel late February pursuant to a prosecution order. Similarly, Eid found that he was banned from travel earlier that month as he was heading to Greece.

The US government and Amnesty International expressed their concern regarding the reopening of investigation on Friday.

Egypt's foreign minister Sameh Shoukry said in a press conference a day later that Egypt is keen on respecting human rights issues and committed to the Egyptian Constitution. Shoukry added that there is continuous dialogue with the US on such matters.

Egypt offers 1,000 military scholarships to African nations: Sisi

Al-Masry Al-Youm

Egypt is to offer one thousand military-training scholarships to African nations, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Thursday during a conference of defense ministers from the Community of Sahel-Saharan States.

 

Sisi made the announcement during a meeting with senior delegates to the conference, which opened in Sharm el-Sheikh two days ago and concludes on Friday.

 

The event is being attended by the defense ministers of several nations in the Sahel and Saharan regions, including Egypt's Defense Minister Sidqi Sobhy.

 

The event provides an opportunity for nations to discuss security developments and co-operation in the region, which faces a variety of security and terrorist threats.

 

According to a ministry statement, Sisi said that Egypt's Defense Ministry will provide one thousand scholarships to African countries, allowing them to study at Egyptian military colleges and institutes.

 

The offer is aimed at enhancing co-operation with countries of the Sahel-Saharan community, as part of Egypt's overall policy of improving relations with African nations, said Sisi.

 

He emphasized the special importance of the conference in light of security threats in the region and world, including recent attacks in Europe, expressing condolences to the families those killed and injured in Tuesday's attacks in Brussels.

 

The attacks confirmed the importance of concerted efforts by the international community to eradicate all terrorist organizations and prevent the dissemination of extremist ideas, he added.

 

The president also stressed the need for political solutions to conflicts on the African continent in order to achieve development.

 

The participating defense ministers confirmed their keenness to promote regional cooperation through the community in order to meet common challenges, particularly the threat of terrorism, according to a ministry statement.

 

Ibrahim Sani Abani, secretary general of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, praised the attendance of Sobhy at the conference, saying the Egyptian minister's presence is very important.

 

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Abani said that the conference was being held in Sharm el-Sheikh due to ongoing security issues in Libya, pointing out that the meeting aimed at re-activating cooperation between the community states.

 

He said the conference could help meet such challenges as human trafficking and the emergence of various terrorist groups, such as Islamic State and Boko Haram, which cross national boundaries and therefore require collaboration between different nations.

 

The UN Charter allows states to defend their borders and to form regional organizations for the same purpose, said Abani, pointing out that African countries should take the initiative to defend themselves against terrorism, rather than relying too much on the UN Security Council.

 

"The secretariat of the community is preoccupied by what is happening in Chad and Somalia, and our role is to protect them," he said. "It is necessary to get involved in this matter and to salute the contributions of the secretary general of the United Nations and the special envoy of the Sahel area and Libya."

 

Abani stressed the need for African nations to co-ordinate efforts in order to deal with security matters.

 

"The military and police forces of the Sahel-Saharan community should be able to move easily across all the various borders of member states to carry out security and stability tasks," he said.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Egyptian official rejects presence of Russian security experts at airports

AP

Egypt Independent

The chairman of the Egyptian Airports Company, Adel Mahgoub, has rejected the terms set by Russia for the resumption of passenger flights to Egypt, including the presence of Russian security experts permanently stationed at Egyptian airports.

 

His comments seem to conflict with an agreement reached between the Egyptian and Russian governments regarding the resumption of tourist flights between the two nations.

 

"The idea is completely unacceptable, because it violates Egypt's sovereignty," said Mahgoub in a statement on Thursday, adding that Russia has the right to provide security experts on board of its planes only, not at Egyptian airports.

 

Earlier this month, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said in an interview with RIA Novosti that Egypt had agreed to all of Russia's proposals and recommendations regarding airport security after the downing of a Russian plane over Sinai on October 31. All 224 people on board the passenger jet were killed, most of them Russian tourists.

 

According to Russia's Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov, Russia aims to send experts to work permanently in securing Egyptian airports and to monitor the implementaion of security measures.

In rejecting the Russian proposal, Mahgoub pointed out that the level of security at Egyptian airports has been praised by many international security inspectors who visited Egypt in recent months.
EgyptAir and Aeroflot are due to resume flights between Moscow and Cairo in April, according to Civil Aviation Ministry sources. However, Russian flights to Egyptian resorts such as Sharm el-Sheikh are not expected to restart any time soon.
Egypt has been seeking to tighten airport security measures since the incident in late October, which Russia says was caused by a terrorist bomb. The tragedy resulted in a halt to passenger flights by Russia and the United Kingdom, with disastrous consequences for the already faltering Egyptian tourism industry.
While Egyptian officials initially avoided suggesting that the event was a terrorist attack, Russian officials later confirmed that a terrorist bomb was to blame, pointing the finger at Islamist militants. In late February, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in a speech that the plane had indeed been brought down in a terrorist attack.
"Whoever downed the Russian plane, what did he mean? He meant to hit tourism, and to hit relations with Russia," said Sisi.
In response to the incident, the Egyptian government invited security experts from several nations to inspect security arrangements, while making a deal with British security firm Control Risks for an overhaul of airport security operations.
The website of the London-based firm Control Risks describes the company's operations as follows: "We support clients by providing strategic consultancy, expert analysis and in-depth investigations through to handling sensitive political issues and providing practical on the ground protection and support."
Some of the key staff members of Control Risks previously worked as military and intelligence officers, including former officers in the British Army and special forces.
Egypt announced the deal with Control Risks at a press conference in December. The announcement was made by Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou, Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamal and Control Risks regional chief executive Andreas Carleton-Smith, who was previously a commissioned officer in the Special Air Service, the best-known of Britain's special-forces units.
Meanwhile, Russia has insisted that it needs its own hands-on presence within Egypt's airport security system, apparently not content to leave security matters entirely to other nations, including Britain, after October's tragic air disaster.

UN, NGOs express fear for rights groups in Egypt

Reuters

AFP

The United Nations and global rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty urged Egypt on Wednesday to drop a renewed investigation of rights activists that has also strained ties with Washington.
Since the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, the authorities have led a crackdown on all forms of dissent — not just Morsi's supporters but also liberal and rights activists.
Rights groups have regularly accused Egypt's security services of carrying out illegal detentions, forced disappearances of activists and torture of detainees.
"NGOs who have played a valuable role in documenting violations and supporting victims will see their activities completely crippled if this continues," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said in a statement.
"This will stifle the voices of those who advocate for victims," he said.
Rights group also raised the alarm.
"Egypt’s civil society is being treated like an enemy of the state, rather than a partner for reform and progress," Said Boumedouha, deputy director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa programme, said in a joint statement issued by 13 global rights groups.
It said that in recent weeks the Egyptian authorities have questioned several human rights workers, barred them from travel and also attempted to freeze their assets.
"The authorities should halt their persecution of these groups and drop the investigation," the statement said.
Five months after the fall of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011, Egyptian authorities began an investigation into the funding of local and foreign groups that led to the closure of five international groups, the statement said.
The United States and other European countries condemned the move and evacuated several citizens who were threatened with arrest.
Under Egyptian law, human rights groups operating without legal registration or accepting foreign funding could be jailed for life. Life imprisonment in Egypt amounts to 25 years.
"The Egyptian authorities have moved beyond scaremongering and are now rapidly taking concrete steps to shut down the last critical voices in the country’s human rights community," said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said last week that there was a "deterioration in the human rights situation in Egypt in recent weeks and months".
His Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry brushed off the criticism, saying the authorities supported civil society in the country.
"But there are laws in all countries to organise and guarantee that the organisations carry out their responsibilities based on the rules they were founded on," he said.

Armed forces capture terrorist explosives cache in N. Sinai

AFP

The Egyptian armed forces captured a store of explosives in the area of Halal mountain, North Sinai, on Thursday.

In a statement on Facebook, Military Spokesperson Mohamed Samir said, “Troops from the Third Field Army seized a store of explosives north of Halal mountain. Four sacks of TNT materials weighing 90 kilograms were found, in addition to two sacks of C4 substance weighing 200 kilograms, three sacks of chloride weighing 60 kilograms.”
Other suspicious substances were also found, including three cylinders used in making bombs and an unlicensed motorbike.
Egyptian military and security forces have been battling a mounting insurgency in Sinai since the removal of former President Mohamed Morsi in June 2013. Militants linked to the Islamic State frequently conduct ambushes, mortar attacks and roadside bombs in the North Sinai governorate.

In one of the largest single attacks, at least 15 police personnel were killed in an assault on a checkpoint in Arish, North Sinai. According to news reports, the attack was initiated by a car bomb at the checkpoint, followed by mortar fire.

Militants from the Sinai Province terrorist group, which is affiliated to Islamic State, later claimed responsibility.

In a typical attack, militants will detonate explosives and then fire on ambulance crews when they arrive to treat the casualties.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

State-owned business sector gets its own ministry in new cabinet

Wednesday’s cabinet reshuffle has seen the state-owned business sector breaking its 12-year-old affiliation with the Investment Ministry, with the sector now having its own ministerial portfolio.

The split had been a common demand throughout consecutive cabinets since 2004, when former PM Ahmed Nazif first merged the ministries of investment and public business into one entity.

With 475,000 workers in 125 companies, state-owned businesses have represented a dilemma for consecutive investment ministers since the 2011 uprising.

The new ministry will have plenty on its plate, most notably privatization efforts that have been judicially challenged by sector workers since 2011, with many investors seeking international arbitration. And while a number of privatized companies have reverted to state ownership, others are either undergoing liquidation of facing bankruptcy.

At the forefront of the endangered companies are the 32 owned by the Cotton and Textile Industries Holding Company, with losses and debts amounting to LE2 billion, and 69,000 workers consuming 50 percent of revenues in payments.

State-owned businesses are seen as prime targets for government plans to offer shares on the stock market, especially as those companies have previously been involved in partial sales of their assets.

State-owned companies in three areas, namely tourism, medicine, land and maritime transport, provide the lion's share of funds flowing into the treasury, having brought in LE260 million in the current fiscal year, up from only LE50 million the year before.

According to the Investment Ministry, combined profits for the sector stood at nearly LE580 million in 2014, rising to LE1,908 billion in 2015 and LE2.1 billion in January 2016.

However, Sherif Sami, head of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority, downplayed the significance of the split between the Investment Ministry and the state-owned business sector. He told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the sector does not include successful companies that would stimulate investors to buy their shares, which, he said, means they are not eligible for a stock-market offering.

“Those companies can issue debt instruments to secure financing, while remaining under state ownership,” Sami said.

"Their unused assets can also be used for real-estate, rather than industrial activity,” he added, voicing a hope that Public Business Minister Ashraf al-Sharqawi, who was appointed on Tuesday, will adjust the budgets of those companies and boost their stock-market shares.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Committee on crashed Russian plane in Sinai refers case to Egypt attorney general

Reuters

The Egypt-led committee investigating the crash of a Russian passenger airplane in the Sinai peninsula last October said on Thursday it was referring the case to Egypt's attorney general, the first indication it suspects foul play.
After receiving a report on the crash from Russia suggesting suspected criminal activity, the committee decided to refer the case to the attorney general, it said in a statement.
Russia and Western countries have long said that they believe the flight was brought down by a bomb smuggled on board.
The investigation committee has said it had yet to find evidence of foul play, but Egypt's president said in a speech in February that the plane was downed by terrorists seeking to damage its tourism industry and ties with Moscow.
The Islamic State militant group, whose Egypt affiliate is waging an insurgency in the Sinai, said it smuggled the explosive aboard inside a soft drink can.
An EgyptAir mechanic whose cousin joined Islamic State in Syria is suspected of planting the bomb, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in January.
The crash has called into question Egypt's campaign to eradicate Islamist militancy and damaged its tourism industry, a cornerstone of the economy.

Six policemen, three militants killed in N. Sinai gunfire, explosions

Thu, 17/03/2016 - 11:16

AFP

Al-Masry Al-Youm

A police conscript was killed on Thursday when a roadside bomb exploded in Sheikh Zuwayed, North Sinai, according to security sources.

The sources said that unknown perpetrators planted the device by the roadside and waited for a passing patrol before setting off the explosion, killing the 22-year-old policeman.

In a separate incident, five police personnel were killed and eight wounded when a stash of explosives seized in earlier security raids exploded inside their camp in Rafah, North Sinai. According to Sky News Arabia, the explosion was triggered by militant mortar fire into the camp.

Meanwhile, army spokesperson Mohamed Samir said three militants were killed in an exchange of fire with army troops. The militants were attacked as they were trying to plant an IED in Rafah.

Since the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood government in 2013, hundreds of police and army personnel have been killed in attacks by terrorist groups affiliated to the Islamic State group.

Many parts of the Sinai Peninsula have been under a partial curfew since October 2014.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Egypt to regulate Uber, Careem ride-hailing services

Azza Fadaly

AFP

Egypt said on Wednesday it will regulate ride-hailing services Uber and Careem after they sparked protests from taxi drivers in Cairo over allegations the smartphone applications bypass traffic regulations.

Conventional taxi drivers are up in arms as more and more commuters opt for the two apps for rides in the Egyptian capital.

The cab drivers are not only protesting the loss of clients to Uber and Careem, but also that the two services use vehicles that are not registered for ferrying commuters.

Egypt's Cabinet said the authorities would take steps to regulate the two ride-hailing services.

The parliamentary affairs ministry would "prepare legal amendments to regulate the applications after reviewing similar legislation in other countries," the Cabinet said, adding the changes would be presented within a month.

Uber and Careem drivers would also "have to pay taxes" and their apps would need to establish a "suitable framework for traditional taxi drivers to join them," the Cabinet said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Uber agreed with the Moscow government to use only officially licensed taxi drivers.

Since its launch in San Francisco five years ago, Uber has enjoyed spectacular global growth, and is now operating in more than 60 countries. It began services in Egypt from November 2014.

The United Arab Emirates-based Careem, which operates across 20 cities in the Middle East, has also made inroads in Egypt.

Violent clashes at Presidential Palace

Photographer: 

Alaa al-Kamhawi

Capture Date

Wed, 05/12/2012 (All day)

Violent clashes between supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Morsy in front of Presidential Palace in Heliopolis, Cairo, 5 December 2012.

Violence spreads outside of capital

MENA

Wed, 05/12/2012 - 21:08

Hazem Gouda

Angry demonstrations took place in governorates outside of Cairo Wednesday, with polarization between supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Morsy escalating into violent clashes in Alexandria, Suez and Mahalla, and attempts to burn Muslim Brotherhood headquarters across the nation.

Dozens stormed the Muslim Brotherhood office in the city of Ismailia, Ismailia Governorate, Wednesday night. After a march in the city, protesters against the clashes at the presidential palace in Cairo set the office ablaze.

The protest consisted of different revolutionary groups and political parties who chanted slogans calling for “toppling the regime.”

Also in Zagazig, the capital of the Nile Delta governorate of Sharqiya, anonymous attackers threw Molotov cocktails at the group’s office. Only the banner of the office and two cars were burnt before firefighters extinguished the fire.

Mohamed Abdel Raouf, a former FJP parliamentarian, said that the attempt to burn the office came after dozens of anti-Morsy protesters marched by the office.

In Alexandria, Muslim Brotherhood protesters clashed with anti-Morsy protesters near the railway station of Sidi Gaber.

Some 3,000 from the Brotherhood started a march at Al-Qaed Ibrahim mosque heading to Sidi Gaber area, where 4,000 of Morsy opponents were gathered.

Security forces withdraw completely from the scene, after the Brotherhood protesters chanted slogans against them.

The anti-Morsy activists blocked the road, causing traffic jams. Protesters denounced what they called “Brotherhood militias” for attacking the protesters and removing their tents from outside the presidential palace in Cairo.

Ayman Mahmoud, a protester, told the website of the state-run daily Al-Ahram that the Egyptian people would not accept the Brotherhood militias controlling power in Egypt. “They beat the protesters with bladed weapons and firearms,” he said.

Ahmed Ali, activist participating in the protest, urged the state agencies to protect the protesters from the Brotherhood militias and save the country from a possible civil war.

Fire gutted the Suez headquarters of the Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, as a result of clashes between members of the party and the Brotherhood and opponents of Morsy. The building was entirely destroyed by the fire.

The clashes started with both sides throwing stones at each other, injuring eight people.
In Damanhour, capital of Beheira governorate, demonstrations were also held to reject the Constitutional Declaration and protest President Morsy ignoring the crisis outside the presidential palace in Cairo, where the Brotherhood attacked protesters.
The demonstrators demanded Morsy to stop or postpone the referendum on the draft constitution scheduled on 15 December.

Both parties exchanged hurling stones, while anti-Morsy protesters accused members of the Muslim Brotherhood group of assaulting protesters at the presidential palace.

The police intensified presence in the vicinity of the party headquarters, which were dark and empty, and the protesters refused to move the demonstration elsewhere.

In Mahalla, trains coming from and going to Alexandria were stopped when demonstrators lit rubber tires on the railway tracks in protest against the clashes.

The demonstrators chanted slogans against President Mohamed Morsy, the Muslim Brotherhood and the supreme guide, and demanded the cancellation of Morsy’s recent decisions.

Edited translation from MENA