Cairo, Aug 29 (IANS) The Egyptian police stressed its readiness to face any violations ahead of the Friday protests planned by Islamists, Xinhua reported Thursday citing state TV.
“The interior ministry will use live ammunition based on the legitimate right of defence,” ministry spokesman Hany Abdel Latif said in a televised statement, referring to the security forces that are in charge of protecting the country’s institutions.
In light of the call made by some Muslim Brotherhood leaders to protest Friday, Latif said “the interior ministry asserted its readiness to deal firmly with any attempts to attack governmental, religious, police premises according to the law”.
He also urged all citizens to unite and be alert regarding the hazards threatening national security.
The National Alliance for Supporting Legitimacy, a pro-ousted president Mohamed Morsi bloc, has called for massive protests Friday in an attempt to pressure for the reinstatement of the “legitimate leader”.
The alliance, formed by 33 Islamic movements including the Muslim Brotherhood from which Morsi hails, also announced “peaceful civil disobedience plan” starting from Friday.
But “Brotherhood without Violence,” a breakaway group from the mother movement of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, called for aborting all acts of protests Friday.
Morsi was elected in mid-2012 as Egypt’s first president after the toppled leader Hosni Mubarak. But he was ousted by the military July 3 this year due to his “maladministration” in his first year of rule as claimed by millions of protesters. Islamists have since then labelled the move as a “military coup”.
Two weeks ago, the Egyptian security forces dispersed two major pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo and Giza, and the ensuing clashes between security men and Morsi’s loyalists killed nearly 1,000 people nationwide, including about 100 policemen.
