Pro-Morsi sit-ins to be dispersed 'by law': Egypt's Interior Minister

Ahram Online , Saturday 27 Jul 2013

Sit-ins in support of deposed president Mohamed Morsi are to be dispersed soon following complaints, says Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim

Mohamed Ibrahim
Egypt's Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim (Photo: Reuters)

Sit-ins demanding the reinstatement of deposed president Mohamed Morsi will be "legally" dispersed soon after residents of Giza and Nasr City – where the sit-ins are located – made official complaints against them, Egypt's Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said during a telephone interview with private Egyptian TV channel Al-Hayat 2.

Pro-Morsi protesters have been staging a sit-in Cairo's Rabaa Al-Adawiya Mosque in Nasr City and Giza's Al-Nahda Square in front of Cairo University for weeks as well as holding regular marches to press on with their demands to reinstate him as president.

Many of Morsi's supporters and opponents faced off across Egypt, leading to at least 100 dead and hundreds injured in the past few weeks. The latest of the clashes occurred on Friday in Alexandria, leading to the death of five protesters.

On Wednesday, army chief Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called on Egyptians to come out in protest against "violence and terrorism" on Friday. Millions have heeded El-Sisi's call.

Pro-Morsi protesters also came out in their hundreds of thousands on Friday.

The military said it would change its strategy in combating "terrorism" after Friday's protests. It also gave the Muslim Brotherhood – where Morsi hails from – until Saturday to join in national reconciliation efforts by Egypt's interim presidency after the former had declined.

Ibrahim also said a "surprise" will be revealed soon regarding the situation in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, where militants have carried out daily attacks against security since the army ousted Morsi on 3 July, killing over 20 policemen and soldiers.

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