Egypt authorizes police to use deadly force

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CAIRO, EGYPT (NEWS1130) – Egyptian authorities have authorized police to use deadly force to protect themselves and key state institutions from attacks.

The Interior Ministry, which is in charge of national security, says in a statement that the new measures come after supporters of the deposed Islamist president torched two local government buildings in the city of Giza, home to the famed pyramids.

Egypt’s military-backed government also pledged to confront “terrorist actions and sabotage” allegedly carried out by members of former President Mohammed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood group.

The streets of Cairo are deserted as the military-installed government enforces a month-long state of emergency and dusk-to-dawn curfew.

Yesterday, clashes between police and supporters of former president Mohammed Morsi left 525 dead and more than 3,700 hurt, according to numbers from the Egyptian Health Ministry.

ABC’s Muhammad Lila, in Cairo, says the worry now is that emotions will run high at planned mass funerals.

“You have a volatile crowd that’s angry and emotional upset at America and quite frankly furious at the Egyptian military for their actions yesterday. And suddenly, you throw in a funeral where emotions are already even higher and this is a tinderbox that is just waiting to explode.”

The BBC’s Jeremy Bowen in Cairo says while it’s too soon to say this is the start of a civil war, both sides seem ready for further confrontation.

“There is no middle ground available for anybody who wants to try to get them together right now. What they really need to try to do is for all Egyptians to come together to try to build some national consensus about the kind of country that they want. And that probably should happen before they try to have another election. But at the moment with people being killed on the streets and demonstrations and tensions, that really is a long way off.”

In Ottawa, Foreign Affairs is warning Canadians to avoid all non-essential travel to Egypt, except for Red Sea coastal resorts.

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