Egypt: Going Down the Tube

Egypt's Election in Turmoil After 20 Anti-Military Protesters Killed

- Common Dreams staff

At least 20 people were killed and nearly 200 injured during fierce clashes in the Abbaseya neighborhood of Cairo early Wednesday, in a spasm of violence that threw the upcoming presidential election into disarray as several candidates announced the suspension of their campaigns.
Egyptian anti-military protesters evacuate a demonstrator after he was shot during clashes in the Abbassiya district of Cairo, Wednesday, May 2, 2012. (Khaled Desouki/AFP) Groups of armed individuals believed to be plain-clothed members of the military attacked anti-military protesters who have been staging a peaceful sit-in since Friday evening near the Defense Ministry in Cairo. A doctor interviewed on a state radio station said most of the deaths were caused by gunshot wounds to the chest or beatings.
The Egyptian army and security forces initially did little to stop the attacks. The violence only stopped six hours later - shortly after noon - when Egyptian army troops in armored vehicles, and heavily armed riot police arrived at the scene.
“The army's intervention has come hours too late," said Amnesty International’s Philip Luther. "There appears to be no will within Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to prevent these tragic events."
Further demonstrations are expected in Cairo this evening in support of the protesters and against military rule.
Former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei blamed the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) and the Egyptian government for the "massacre." "SCAF & Government unable to protect civilians or in cahoots with thugs. Egypt going down the drain," ElBaradei said in a Tweet.