Brotherhood leader’s son killed in clashes; Gunfire heard at besieged Cairo mosque

August 17, 2013

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Cairo, Aug 17: Gunfire was on Saturday heard at a Cairo mosque where hundreds of supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy were engaged in a tense standoff with security forces, even as the death toll in fierce street clashes rose to nearly 180.

Gunshots were heard at Al-Fatah mosque near Ramses Square in central Cairo, where security forces in riot gear have surrounded pro-Morsy supporters.

State-run MENA news agency reported that gunmen were firing from inside the mosque and live footage on television showed security forces shooting at a minaret from outside.

Scores of protesters, who took those killed and wounded in Friday’s clashes to the mosque, have refused to leave.

Some security personnel entered the mosque to negotiate with protesters and reportedly offered to allow women to leave the mosque but said men would be held for questioning. The Muslim Brotherhood rejected the proposal.

Speaking to Al Jazeera by phone from inside the mosque, Omaima Halawa said there were about 700 people, including women and children, inside.

They feared leaving the mosque because “there were thugs outside with the security forces, and that... the security forces were working with the thugs”, she said.

Egypt’s Nile News reported that about 10 people, mostly women, left the mosque with the body of a woman who died on Friday.

As the toll in Friday’s clashes between protesters and security forces across the country rose to 173, the Muslim Brotherhood on Saturday called for a week of protests.

Brotherhood spiritual leader’s son killed

Senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie’s son was among dozens shot dead in the Egyptian capital on Friday.

Ammar Badie, a 38-year-old computer engineer, died of a bullet wound in Ramses Square in Cairo during protests.

The Muslim Brotherhood has established a makeshift field hospital in the mosque at Ramses Square, the latest flashpoint in a growing crisis.

Two protesters inside the mosque told BBC they did not trust the authorities’ promises of a safe exit. They said the protesters had drinking water but there was only one toilet.

Security officials quoted by MENA news agency claimed “armed elements” had opened fire from inside the mosque. They said people were being prevented from leaving the mosque by protesters.

Mr. Morsy’s supporters took to the streets after Friday prayers to protest the killing of over 600 in the August 14, 2013 crackdown by the military-backed government.

Egypt’s interim officials say more than 1,000 Islamists were arrested after Friday’s protests, dubbed as “Day of Rage“.

“The number of Muslim Brotherhood elements arrested reached 1,004,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

“Our rejection of the coup regime has become an Islamic, national and ethical obligation that we can never abandon,” said the Brotherhood, which has accused Egypt’s military of plotting the downfall of Mr. Morsy last month to regain the levers of power.

The crackdown has divided Egyptians as never before in recent history, splintering the army-installed government and inviting international censure.

An interim cabinet, installed by the Army after it removed Morsy during rallies against his rule, has refused to back down in the face of the protests. It has authorised police to use live ammunition to defend themselves and state installations.

Bader Abdel Atty, a spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, defended the actions of the security forces in an interview with Al Jazeera, saying that protesters were armed with machine guns.

He dismissed international condemnation of the violence and said Egypt would accept no external interference.

Egypt’s interim leaders have imposed a state of emergency with dusk-to-dawn curfews in the capital and other areas. The Interior Ministry says police have been authorised to use live ammunition “within a legal framework“.

The Muslim Brotherhood has been on the streets since July 3 after the army deposed Mr. Morsy — Egypt’s first democratically elected president — last month and installed an interim government.

Al-Qaeda chief’s brother held

Authorities have also arrested the brother of al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, a security official was quoted by media reports as saying.

Mohammed al-Zawahiri, leader of the ultraconservative Jihadi Salafist group, was detained at a checkpoint in Giza.

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News Network
April 18,2020

Apr 18: Taking a strong notice of Islamophobia on social media, Princess Hend Al Qassimi, a member of the royal family of United Arab Emirates, called out a series of tweets by a user named Saurabh Upadhyay.

Upadhyay had posted tweets attacking Muslims over the Tablighi Jamaat congregation held in March in Delhi that led to surge of coronavirus cases cases in India. He also gave into rumours of muslims ‘spiting on food’ to spread the virus.

Princess Qassimi shared the screenshots of his tweets and warned that those engaging in racism and Islamophobia will have to pay penalty and will be made to leave UAE. Upadhyay has apparently deactivated his Twitter handle now.

Responding to his earlier posts, she though the ruling family of UAE is “friends with Indians”, his rudeness was “not welcome”.

“All employees are paid to work, no one comes for free. You make your bread and butter from this land which you scorn and your ridicule will not go unnoticed,” she wrote.

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Agencies
April 27,2020

Riyad, Apr 27: The Saudi-led Arab Coalition supporting Yemen’s UN-recognized government on Monday urged all parties to end any escalation of hostilities and return to the status that existed before the Southern Transitional Council (STC) declared self-rule.

In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the coalition emphasized “the need to cancel any step that violates the Riyadh agreement and work to accelerate its implementation.” 

On Sunday, the United Arab Emirates-backed STC scrapped a peace deal with the internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

Accusing the government of corruption and mismanagement, the separatists said they would “self-govern” the key southern port city of Aden and other southern provinces.

Yemen’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Al-Hadhrami described the move as a “resumption of its (STC’s) armed insurgency and rejection and complete withdrawal from the Riyadh agreement.” 

Authorities in Yemen’s southern provinces of Hadramawt, Abyan, Shabwa, Al-Mahra and the remote island of Socotra also rejected the separatist group’s claim to self-rule.

The government said local and security authorities in the five provinces dismissed the move as a “clear and definite coup.” 

Some of the provinces issued their own statements condemning it.

The coalition appealed to all parties to “give priority to the interests of the Yemeni people over any other interests”. 

It also urged the parties involved not to lose their focus on working to achieve the goal of restoring the state, ending the Houthi “coup” and “countering terrorist organizations”.

“The Coalition has and will continue to undertake practical and systematic steps to implement the Riyadh Agreement between the parties to unite Yemeni ranks, restore state institutions and combat the scourge of terrorism,” the statement said. “The responsibility rests with the signatories to the Agreement to undertake national steps toward implementing its provisions, which were signed and agreed upon with a time matrix for implementation.”

The STC has been part of the coalition-backed forces fighting the Iran-backed Houthi militia, which seized control of the Yemeni capital Sanaa and other provinces in 2014.

The Houthi “coup” has led to the formation of the Saudi-led coalition, which had since driven away the Houthis from the south and other provinces. President Hadi’s government has made Aden as its temporary seat.

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Agencies
May 1,2020

Saudi Arabia has initiated refund of work visa fee to foreigners unable to travel to the Kingdom due to the suspension of international flights in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic.

Several work visas were cancelled, following which the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, in cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced the refund. The cancellation and refunding of the stamped visas will be considered effective from the date of issuance of the royal decree on March 18, reported Saudi Gazette.

As a precautionary measure to curb the spread of coronavirus, the Kingdom suspended all international flight. The ministry of health in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday announced 1,325 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases and 169 recoveries. With this, the total number of cases in the Kingdom now stands at 21,402, while recoveries stand at 2,953, as on Wednesday reported KT.

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