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Egypt Christians vent fury after clashes kill 25
Mon Oct 10, 2011 2:39pm GMT Print | Single Page [-] Text [+]

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By Tamim Elyan and Edmund Blair

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian Christians turned their fury against the army on Monday after at least 25 people were killed when troops crushed a protest using tactics that deepened public doubts about the military's ability to steer Egypt peacefully towards democracy.

In the worst violence since Hosni Mubarak was ousted, armoured vehicles sped into a crowd late on Sunday to break up a protest near Cairo's state television. Online videos showed mangled bodies. Activists said corpses were crushed by wheels.

Tension between Muslims and minority Coptic Christians has simmered for years but has worsened since the anti-Mubarak revolt, which gave freer rein to Salafist and other strict Islamist groups that the former president had repressed.

The ruling military council called on the interim government to investigate the clashes urgently and said it would take necessary measures to maintain security, state TV said.

But much of the anger from Sunday's violence targeted the army, accused by politicians from all sides of worsening social tension through a clumsy response to street violence and not giving a clear timetable for handing power to civilians.

"This is a huge crisis that could end in a civil clash. It could end in dire consequences," presidential hopeful Amr Moussa told a news conference on the violence attended by leading politicians. "An immediate investigation committee must be formed, with immediate results."

Investors, who Egypt is desperate to attract to plug a deep funding shortfall, sold Egyptian shares, pushing the benchmark index down as much as 5.1 percent at the open. The index closed down 2.3 percent.

"One big problem Egypt faces now is that, increasingly, there is no one in power with the authority and credibility to calm the situation down," said a senior Western diplomat. Continued...

My coptic friends have been posting stories after stories and pictures of the dead, I really hope this madness goes away!

http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-embattled- ... 00559.html

This started out a military-inspired pogrom against the Christians, who were demanding the ouster of the Governor of Aswan, whom they blamed for inciting violence against them and for the burning of a church in the province, which he would not investigate. It is not helpful to call these "clashes". The protestors were not armed. They were mowed down by snipers and tanks. I have seen some of the videos. Read the article.....

Grant, I've seen the video footage too. It was quite shocking.

The Egyptian military council is a collection of mini-Mubaraks.

If what Grant and Cinque are saying is true, it seems the military rather than trying to hand over power is purposely building up a case against the Christian minorities to unite the largely Muslim populace about the "activism" of the Christians leading the army to be seen as the power for the interest of the united Egyptian Muslim populace. At least it will buy them time. So typical

Grant, I've seen the video footage too. It was quite shocking.

The Egyptian military council is a collection of mini-Mubaraks.

Walaalo, Jamal, Sadat and Mubarak are all from the army and they have been in power since the 50s spoon fed the same ideologies. I hope I see the day when a civilian rules Egypt.

If what Grant and Cinque are saying is true, it seems the military rather than trying to hand over power is purposely building up a case against the Christian minorities to unite the largely Muslim populace about the "activism" of the Christians leading the army to be seen as the power for the interest of the united Egyptian Muslim populace. At least it will buy them time. So typical

and they'll suceed...military rule since 1952

Coptics need to grow backbone and start forming their own militias and eventually separate from future Jihadi Egypt. It's pretty obvious that Jihadi extremists have been creeping into Egyptian politics and shaping popular opinion in the last 20+ years.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-0 ... orces.html

The Egyptians are now concerned about the effect these "clashes" are having on their stock market and economy. They appear to be scrambling to create stability under circumstances of great doubt. The Coptic Church in the US is mobilizing. I will not be surprised to hear rumblings coming from Ethiopia..... The situation is.......complex.

Freedom comes with a price. but is the arab spring turning into an arab fall?

Freedom comes with a price. but is the arab spring turning into an arab fall?

Egypt was never really "freed" as long as the military still held absolute power. Civilian rule is when the country is "free"

Here"s an editorial from the Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... -editorial

This has been going on for a while, becoming institutionalized. The author is concerned because the transitional council is putting off the presidential election until 2013, meaning the military will be in direct control until at least then.

I see some here trying to convince us with their fake stories about 'Coptic plight', where in fact it is these Egyptian Coptics who have been provoking the larger Muslim population and now the Egyptian security forces. A plan has been hatched to break up Egypt and make all of the regions that lie on the Mediteranean sea a separate country where there are sizable Christian Coptics. The forces who created, funded, armed, and finally formed Southern Sudan as a seprate country are today repeating the same model in Egypt, Libya, and Syria.

The so-called Arab Spring has never been a genuine effort that originated from the Arab masses; Suddenly, without warning, the stable regimes in Egypt and Tunisia have fallen. The next thing was Bahrain but because the alternative was not receptive to the BOYS BEHIND THE CURTAIN, it was put down mercilessly. When the Monarch loyalist troops could not handle the uprising from the Bahrainian Shia Muslim majority alone, Saudi Arabian, Qatar and UAE forces have invaded, and those defensless Bahraini Shia Muslim majority was put down mercilessly.

In the case of Libya, it was completely different; the Libyan government understood the game and stood its ground. A UN resolution was passed to clear the way for foreign invasion when it was clear the mini-demonstrations were not going to bring down the Jamahiria government. Over the last 7 months, NATO fighter planes, NATO special forces, mercenary forces from different countries, loyalists to the last Libyan monarchy, and the supporters of the secessionist regions are at war with the forces of the legitimate Jamahiriya government. Any Arab, Muslim, and African should see the tragedy unfolding in Sirte, Libya--the hometown of the Libyan President Mu'amar Government--in the last 6 weeks.

The destabilization of Syria and preparation of foreign invasion are also in motion.

Any reasonable person can easily see what is hatching in front of our eyes: The new colonialization of the Muslim world, and the break-up of existing Muslim states.

Freedom comes with a price. but is the arab spring turning into an arab fall?

Egypt was never really "freed" as long as the military still held absolute power. Civilian rule is when the country is "free"

You are right. I was refering to the arab spring.

The litmus test is if Arabs can embrace democracy and avoid a path that will lead to violence between different religions.