Egyptian diplomatic sources told Ahram Online on Thursday night that the demand by France, Britain and Australia for an informal UN Security Council discussion session on Egypt was unexpected.  

European diplomats for their part said that the move was unavoidable in view of the “horrifying” scenes of violence during the police dispersal of two sit-ins by supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi in Cairo on Wednesday.

“Originally we were reassured that the death toll would not be high but we are now talking about close to 1,000 people killed – true, not all in the dispersal of the sit-ins but in several incidents; and this too, it should be remembered, not the first attack on supporters of Morsi,” said a senior European diplomatic source in Cairo who requested anonymity.

The official death toll from Wednesday’s violence had reached over 600 on Thursday night, with almost 4,000 injured.

The consultations, according to Egyptian diplomatic sources in Cairo and New York, are not set to issue a decree. “There might be a presidential statement by the president along the line of the statement made by [US President Barack] Obama earlier today [Thursday]; we are not talking about sanctions or anything of the such, but we are talking possibly about a statement that would denounce the killings and call for dialogue and an inclusive democratic political process,” a New York-based source said.

The call for taking the issue to the Security Council was originally made by Ankara two days ago. It was reiterated on Thursday by Turkey, which strongly opposed the ouster of Morsi on the 3 July.

On Thursday evening Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy summoned Egypt’s ambassador to Turkey, Abdel-Rahman Salah, for consultations – to show Egyptian discontent with the Turkish discourse on Egypt.

Egyptian diplomatic sources in Washington said that a nod of approval was offered to the move by France, the UK and Australia, despite the close consultations on an almost daily basis between Egyptian armed forces chief General Abdel Fattah El- Sisi and US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.

Sources told Ahram Online that the two recently discussed the determination of El-Sisi to “impose the rule of law, for fear of having things getting out of hand.” Hagel, according to the same sources, expressed understanding of the Egyptian point of view but was mindful of any “imprudent” action.

Whatever the talks between El-Sisi and Hagel, sources say, the images of bloodshed coming out of Cairo on Wednesday could not have been overlooked by Washington.

On Thursday Egyptian diplomats to the UK, France and Germany rejected statements of concern made by the three European states as “intervention in internal Egyptian affairs” and insisted that authorities in Cairo were acting upon serious security concerns on the ground.

The African Union had, following the military’s ouster of Morsi, suspended Egypt’s membership. It remains to be seen if other international bodies will take similar measures.

Egyptian diplomats will have a challenging time presenting their case that the violence in Egypt is a necessary step in restoring security.

Several Western capitals, including Washington, have issued travel warnings advising their citizens to leave Egypt. Moreover, several international airliners, including British Airways and Danish Airways, have decided to suspend their trips to Cairo and other cities in Egypt. Sources expect that similar measures could be adopted by Germany and Sweden.

Cairo, government sources say, is hoping that international anger will subside as the democratic process starts to unfold.