Cairo (AsiaNews) - Cairo police clashed overnight with thousands of supporters of former President Mohamed Morsi, dismissed at the beginning of July.
The protesters began to gather
after iftar, the dinner that breaks the Ramadan fast after sunset. They
threw stones at police, who responded with tear gas. According
to Morsi supporters, the Muslim Brotherhood, there were two dead and more than
300 injured in the clashes near Ramses Square. More violence
took place near the October 6 bridge.
They
were the first violent clashes after a week, when a huge pro-Morsi demonstratio
turned voilent leaving 55 demonstrators dead, along with four policemen.
Yesterday's demonstration took
place while William Burns, Deputy US Secretary of State began a visit to Egypt.
Burns
met with the new leadership that ousted Morsi: Gen. Abdel
Fattah Al Sisi, head of the Armed Forces, the interim president Adly Mansour
and Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi.
Since
the 2011demonstrations against Mubarak, the United States has held a rather
awkward position: at first doubtful whether to support Mubarak or Tahrir
Square, and then, in the election, whether to support the Muslim Brotherhood or
the army. After
Morsi's victory, the US was open to friendship with the Brotherhood and accepted
his ouster with heavy opposition, despite it being decreed by over 30 million
people, supported by the Egyptian army.
Burns said yesterday that the
country had "a second chance to realize the promise of the
revolution."
But
the U.S. - which supports the Egyptian armed forces with an annual aid budget of
1.5 billion dollars - are now much despised by the Egyptian population. The
Tamarod, the anti-Morsi movement, that collected over 20 million signatures to
remove him from office, have refused to meet with Burns. As have the
Salafis, who are also anti-Morsi.
Meanwhile, the interim government,
which should lead the country to elections at the beginning of 2014 and try to
heal the devastated Egyptian economy, is taking shape. The government should
be sworn in today or tomorrow. Members
include: Nabil Fahmy, former ambassador to the U.S., as Foreign Minister, Ahmed
Galal, the former head of the World Bank as finance minister, Ziad Bahaa-Eldin,
an expert in finance, will be minister for international cooperation; Nobel laureate
Mohamed ElBaradei, will be vice-president for international relations. Ines
Abdel Dayem, former head of Cairo Opera, fired by Morsi, will become Minister
of Culture.
While
the former president is held under house arrest, the attorney general's office
has opened an investigation on him and seven other members of the Brotherhood,
suspected of killing demonstrators and of "collaboration with foreign
parties to target national interests ". Among
them are Mohamed Badie, the president of the Brotherhood, and Vice-President
Essam el-Erian.