Varied reactions to Rabea violence

Both security forces and the Muslim Brotherhood were thought to share the blame for clashes that occurred early Saturday in Nasr City, leaving 72 people dead according to the Health Ministry, as political powers’ reactions varied.

The National Salvation Front placed the blame on the Brotherhood for its “systematic hostile approach” in claiming that such confrontations “are jihad for god,” as well as exaggerating the number of deaths in a clear attempt to incite more violence.

In its statement, issued Saturday, the NSF also mourned the casualties, emphasizing that protecting Egyptians’ lives and upholding human rights should be the priority for the country’s various institutions and political parties.     

Clashes between security forces and supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi near the Brotherhood’s Rabea al-Adaweya sit-in started when the latter allegedly tried to block the October 6 Bridge. 

The NSF called for forming an independent judicial fact-finding committee which would take into account both the interior minister’s and eyewitness accounts. Based on the committee’s findings, those responsible for inciting violence should be punished, including the interior minister, should it be proven that security forces used excessive violence.

The NSF lamented the Brotherhood’s “abuse of bloody confrontations” to reject national reconciliation, and urged security forces to exercise self-restraint.

The April 6 Movement, however, condemned what it dubbed a “massacre,” calling for the dismissal of all those responsible for the violence, chief of whom is the interior minister.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page Sunday, the movement placed responsibility for the bloodshed on the Interior Ministry, the Armed Forces, and the interim president, as well as Muslim Brotherhood leaders.

“With bloodshed there can be no legitimacy for presidents, ministers, or leaders,” April 6 said.

The movement called on Interim President Adly Mansour to take measures to stop the bloodshed, including the dismissal of the interior minister, “whose hands have been tainted with blood since he served in Mohamed Morsi’s government.”

April 6 also called for arresting Brotherhood leaders who incite violence and for the formation of a fact-finding committee to investigate the violence.

The movement denied reports that it was planning to join the Rabea al-Adaweya sit-in.

Tamarod, the movement that started the anti-Morsi protests on June 30, said it supports the government’s measures for “combating terrorism,” but denounced the interior minister’s announcement on Saturday that departments to combat terrorism and to monitor religious activity will be reinstated in the National Security Agency.

The campaign said any talk of the return of a state of emergency or combating religious activity “violates the principles of the Jan 25 revolution.”

Mahmoud Badr, official spokesperson of Tamarod, said that the campaign’s support for measures combating terrorism “do not include any exceptional measures that conflict with general freedoms and human rights.”

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry and the Muslim Brotherhood continued to play the blame game. The ministry denied the use of live ammunition on Saturday and said that police had only used tear gas to disperse protesters. The interior minister said that Brotherhood members stirred up clashes to gain sympathy.

The Brotherhood maintained that security forces launched an attack using bullets and teargas on a peaceful march. It placed the death toll at 127.