UAE aids Egypt violent crackdown: Ex-PM

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has provided Egypt’s army with warfare and military equipment to be used against supporters of the ousted president Mohamed Morsi, a former top official says.

“The (interim) Interior Minister (General Mohamed Ibrahim) had asked me to mediate military support from UAE to the security forces,” Ahmad Shafiq, who served as the last prime minister under ex-Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, said earlier this week.

“I did and the UAE immediately sent arms and equipment to fight terrorism. The UAE has contracted more arms to support the Egyptian Interior Ministry,” he added.

Shafiq also said, “The minute they (UAE officials) felt that the Egyptian Interior Ministry was changing and might be in need of assistance, they called me to affirm they would make every assistance available.”

Shafiq also confirmed that Saudi Arabia assisted Egypt following the ouster of Morsi, the first democratically elected head of state in the July military coup d’état, saying, “Despite all Saudi assistance, the UAE has done more, even more things than people know.”

Meanwhile, on September 9, Shafiq said he would support Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi — who ousted Morsi — if he runs for president in an election expected to be held in 2014.

On July 5, the Muslim Brotherhood’s supreme guide Mohamed Badie said the move against Morsi was illegal and millions would remain on the streets until the reinstatement of the ousted president.

The army-appointed government has launched a bloody crackdown on Morsi supporters ever since his ouster and arrested more than 2,000 Brotherhood members, including Badie, who was detained on August 20.

About 1,000 people were killed in a week of clashes between Morsi supporters and security forces after police dispersed their protest camps in a fatal crackdown on August 14.

The massacre sparked international condemnation and prompted world bodies to call for an independent investigation into the violence.

MAM/KA

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UAE aids Egypt violent crackdown: Ex-PM

Death of Bahrain activist sparks violent protest (VIDEO)

Published time: September 13, 2013 13:36

At least 12 protesters have been arrested in the north of Bahrain after a mass funeral of an opposition activist turned into a violent rally.

Protesters threw stones and street debris at riot police in the north of Bahrain, following a mass funeral of a 22-year-old activist in the village of al-Daih on Thursday, according to RT’s video agency, Ruptly.  

Demonstrators, who blocked roads with burning tires and cement blocks, were confronted by Special Security Forces officers, who arrived on tanks and riot jeeps and fired tear gas at the rally participants. 

Mohammed Abduljalil Yousif, an opposition activist, died on Wednesday and was immediately pronounced a ‘martyr’ by his fellow protesters, who believe he was run over by a police car. 

An alternative theory concerning the young activist’s death has been put forward by unnamed sources, cited by Gulf Daily News. They say Mohammed Abduljalil was killed by a tree, which he and his friends were trying to cut down in order to block a road as part of their protest activity. 

“His friends panicked when one of the trees fell on him and he was lying in a pool of blood,” the daily is citing the source. “They didn’t call police, but took him to IHB [the International Hospital of Bahrain] where he was pronounced dead.”

It’s not the first time protesters are claiming their fellow activist was run over by a police car. One of the most recent cases was in November 2012, when demonstrators accused police of killing a 16-year-old boy. The incident caused rioting as well.

Situation in Bahrain has been volatile with regular rallies staged by the opposition ever since the country’s ‘Arab Spring’ uprising was suppressed two-and-a-half years ago. The Shiite-led revolt back then was crushed by security forces protesting the Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty. 

Human Rights Watch says more than 80 people have died in uprisings since they began in February 2011. 

One of the most vocal critics of the government, activist Nabeel Rajab, has been serving a three-year term in jail since August 2012.

Reports of human rights violations in Bahrain have become a loaded issue for Washington, as the kingdom is home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

A series of massive and violent rallies took place in April, while the country was hosting the Formula One race and protesters were trying to draw the attention of the international community to the lack of democratic freedoms in Bahrain.

Bahrain’s parliament responded with new tough laws passed in July. The legislation bans protests in the capital and gives authorities the right to strip citizenship from those convicted of violence.

The UN has repeatedly called on Bahrain for it to permit entry of the United Nation’s envoy to the kingdom to investigate allegations of human rights abuse. Bahrain has refused to comply.

RT – News

Death of Bahrain activist sparks violent protest (VIDEO)