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UNSC urges 'maximum restraint' in Egypt

China.org.cn, August 16, 2013

• Photos  | Death toll | World reactions | Mixed domestic reactions

  The UN Security Council Thursday urged all parties in Egypt to "exercise maximum restraint" and put an end to violence in the Middle East country following an emergency meeting.

  The Egyptian security forces arrest supporters of Egypt' s ousted president Mohamed Morsi at Nahda Square in Cairo, Egypt, Aug. 14, 2013. The Egyptian security forces managed to evacuate Nahda Square in Giza, one of the two major squares where supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi had been sitting in for over 45 days, state TV reported Wednesday. [Xinhua/Engy Emad]

  
  
  

  The meeting was held a day after a deadly crackdown on protesters by Egyptian security forces which left 638 people died.

  Morsi's loyalists have organized two major sit-ins in Rabia al-Adawiya Square in Cairo and Nahda Square Giza since June 28, demanding his reinstatement.

  United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the the use of force to break up sit-ins and demonstrations.

  While recognizing that political clocks do not run backwards, Ban said "violence and incitement from any side are not the answers to the challenges Egypt faces."

  Obama cancel the military excercises with Egypt, saying that "our traditional cooperation cannot continue as usual when civilians are being killed."

  However, the Obama administration has not suspended its 1.3 billion dollars annual aid to Egypt.

  "I deplore the loss of life and call on all in Egypt to seek a way out of the violence. I urge the Egyptian authorities and security forces to act with the utmost restraint," said Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

  Egypt has been undergoing a democratic transition following the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak two years ago in the wake of mass protests. Last month, renewed protests, in which dozens of people were killed and wounded, led to the Egyptian military deposing Morsy. The Constitution was then suspended and an interim government set up.

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