Egyptian soldiers escape from pro-Mursi kidnappers, state TV reports
An army official, cited by state news agency MENA, said that pro-Mursi activists abducted the two men — identified as Samir Abdallah Ali and Azzam Hazem Ali — and were forced into a vehicle and made to make pro-Mursi and anti-military statements on a loudspeaker.
He added that one soldier was “severely beaten” while making the pro-Mursi statements.
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood called for an “uprising” on Monday after at least 35 of its supporters were shot dead outside an army headquarters in Cairo, and urged international intervention to prevent a “new Syria.”
Earlier, the Egyptian armed forces said “armed terrorists” had tried to storm the headquarters of the elite Republican Guard, where the Brotherhood had been protesting, leaving one security officer dead.
At least 42 killed in attack outside Cairo’s army headquarters
At least 42 people were killed in an attack outside the headquarters of the Republican Guard in Cairo, according to emergency services.
Khaled al-Khatib, a Health Ministry official, said Monday that initial reports indicated 34 people were killed and 300 wounded in shooting outside the building.
“At dawn, an armed terrorist group tried to storm the Republican Guard [building]… attacking army troops and police,” the Egyptian army said in a statement, adding that one officer was killed.
A security source said that around 200 armed members of the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested in the attack on the Republican Guard’s headquarters.
Meanwhile, the Brotherhood said on Monday that 35 supporters of ousted President Mohammed Mursi were shot dead by security forces while they were praying.
“Mursi supporters were praying while the police and army fired live rounds and tear gas at them. This led to around 35 dead and the figure is likely to rise,” the Brotherhood said in a statement.
The incident took place outside a key army headquarters, where – according to AFP – reporters were not allowed access.
The army reportedly fired tear gas canister and bullets in the air to disperse the crowd. AFP quoted one protesters as saying that men in civilian clothing attacked the demonstrators.
“The Republican Guard fired tear gas but the thugs came from the side. We were the target,” the protester told AFP.
Supporters of Mursi – who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood – have gathered in large number is different areas in Cairo in the past few days. They are vowing to defend the Islamist president, who was ousted by the Egyptian army after mass demonstration calling for him to be removed from power.
Mursi was the first freely elected president in Egypt.
Egypt orders shutdown of Islamist party headquarters
The Egyptian prosecution ordered on Monday the shutdown of the Freedom and Justice Party’s headquarters in Cairo, a security official told AFP.
Salafists pull out of government talks in Egypt
He added that weapons were found inside the building.
Police found “flammable liquid, knives and arms to be used against the June 30 protests,” the official told AFP, referring to demonstrations that saw millions take to the streets to demand the resignation of Islamist President Mohammed Mursi.
The Freedom and Justice Party is the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, from which Mursi hails.
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood called for an “uprising” on Monday after at least 35 of its supporters were shot dead outside an army headquarters in Cairo, and urged international intervention to prevent a “new Syria.”
Earlier, the Egyptian armed forces said “armed terrorists” had tried to storm the headquarters of the elite Republican Guard, where the Brotherhood had been protesting, leaving one security officer dead.
Salafists pull out of government talks in Egypt
An Egyptian Salafist party, Al-Nour, said it withdrew from deliberation on the formation of a new cabinet following the killing of demonstrators calling for ousted Islamist President Mohammed Mursi to be reinstated.
“We have decided to withdraw immediately from all negotiations in response to the massacre outside the Republican Guard” headquarters, Al-Nour spokesman Nadder Bakkar said on Twitter.
The Al-Nour spokesperson told Al Arabiya that a committee to look into Monday’s incident must be formed.
Unidentified gunmen attacked the Republican Guard officers’ club in Egypt, killing 16 people, medical sources said, amid reports that army killed at least 16 Islamist activists during a protest on Monday.
Al-Nour had supporterted the military’s overthrow of Mursi last week but did say it was concerned about the army’s transitional plans, including the appointment of Adly Mansour as caretaker president.
Al-Nour rejected on Sunday the nomination of Ziad Bahaa Eddin and Mohamed Elbaradei as the country’s next interim prime minister and vice-president respectively.
“We have not agreed with the presidency on Ziad Bahaa Eddin or ElBaradei,” Al-Nour said in a statement.
Egypt’s Salafist party rejects choices for premier, vice-president
Egypt’s Salafist Al-Nour party has rejected on Sunday the nomination of Ziad Bahaa Eddin and Mohamed Elbaradei as the country’s next interim prime minister, and vice-president respectively.
“We have not agreed with the presidency on Ziad Baha Edden or ElBaradei,” Al-Nour party said in a statement.
Their statement came after Egypt’s state television reported on Sunday at the lawyer Eddin, vice president of the liberal Social Democratic party, is likely to be appointed as Egypt’s interim prime minister.
The 48-year-old Eddin, an Oxford-educated commercial lawyer, was chairman of the Egyptian Investment Authority from 2004-2007, and later headed the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority in 2008.
Eddin, however, began his political career when he joined the Social Democratic party after the January 25 revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Al Arabiya correspondent, meanwhile, reported that Eddin was mulling on whether he will accept to be Egypt’s interim prime minister. He said he will finalize his decision after he arrives to Egypt on Monday from Romania.
Choosing Eddin as the country’s new premier came after Egypt’s two major Islamist groups, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafist al-Noor Party rejected the nomination of opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei.
However, Egypt TV said on Sunday that ElBaradei, a Nobel Prize winner, could be appointed as deputy interim president.
Meanwhile, the Nour Party said it fears ElBaradei’s premiership would increase polarization between supporters of ousted President Mohammed Mursi and his opponents.
The party’s secretary general, Shabaan Abdel Alim, told Al Arabiya that they do not reject ElBaradei’s personally, but believe that the upcoming government should be a “technocrat.”
The ultra-conservative party supported the army-led “roadmap” following Mursi’s ouster on Wednesday but threatened to step back if ElBaradei was appointed.
ElBaradei’s appointment was supported by members of the rebellion campaign ‘Tamarod,’ who engineered the anti-Mursi protests on June 30.
Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood also said that it rejected both Eddin and Elbaradei. The Islamist group said it will not “compromise the legitimacy” of the 2012 presidential elections that resulted in Mursi being the country’s leader.