Category: North Africa

he Egyptian government intensified its crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood on Wednesday, formally listing the group as a terrorist organization after accusing it of carrying out a suicide bomb attack on a police station that killed 16 people. The move marked a major escalation in the army-backed government’s campaign to suppress the Islamist movement that propelled Mohamed Mursi to the presidency 18 months ago but has been driven underground since the army toppled him in July. It gives the authorities the power to charge any member of the Brotherhood with belonging to a terrorist group, as well as anyone who finances the group or promotes it "verbally, or in writing". "This is a turning point in the confrontation. This is an important tool for the government to close any door in the face of the Brotherhood’s return to political life," said Khalil al-Anani, a Washington-based expert […]

Click here to view full article at www.reuters.com

An Egyptian security official says a suicide car bomber is suspected to have been behind the deadly explosion that targeted the police headquarters in a Nile Delta city the day before. The attack killed 15 people, mostly police officers, and wounded over 100. It was the deadliest bombing yet in a months-long wave of violence blamed on Islamic militants. The official said Wednesday the investigation has shown that a bomber drove a pickup truck laden with explosives close to the police headquarters in the northern city of Mansoura, then detonated it. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Tuesday’s bombing brought down an entire section of the police headquarters, incinerated dozens of cars and police vehicles and damaged several buildings. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be […]

Click here to view full article at hosted.ap.org

Egypt has made a partial payment on the money it owes to international energy firms in a bid to revive confidence in its flagging hydrocarbon sector, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. Egypt has an energy debt of around $6.4 billion. It has been paying hefty premiums for its crude supplies due to the weak Egyptian pound and dwindling foreign currency reserves. It has also been facing a slowdown in oil and gas exploration activities due to continuing civil unrest following the removal of president Hosni Mubarak from office in 2011. "Some companies already received last week some payments as part of a $1.5 billion deal we agreed to pay before the end of this year," an Egyptian oil official who asked not be named told The Wall Street Journal. "The rest of the $1.5 billion will be paid to the companies this week as […]

Click here to view full article at online.wsj.com

A bomb blast tore through a police compound in Egypt’s Nile Delta on Tuesday, killing 12 people and wounding 134 in one of the deadliest attacks since the army deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July. The army-backed government vowed to fight "black terrorism", saying the blast an hour after midnight in the city of Mansoura north of Cairo would not derail a political transition plan whose next step is a January referendum on a new constitution. With eight policemen among the dead, the blast pointed to the risk of militancy moving to the densely populated Nile Valley from the Sinai Peninsula, where attacks have killed some 200 members of the security forces since Mursi’s downfall. "We face an enemy that has no religion or nation," Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim, the survivor of an assassination attempt in September, said while inspecting the scene of the blast, […]

Click here to view full article at www.reuters.com

Clashes between the police and students in Egypt have intensified in recent weeks, partly shutting some of the country’s top universities and taking a heavy toll on demonstrators. At least two students have been killed and hundreds more injured or arrested since early November. Since the start of the Arab Spring protests, in 2010, Egyptian universities have experienced their fair share of tumult. But recently the situation has reached a fever pitch. The ouster of President Mohamed Morsi in July triggered student protests against the military-backed government, resulting in a crackdown by security forces. The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, an Egyptian group that monitors academic freedom, has denounced a “widespread violation of universities’ independence and the rights and freedoms of their students.” Protests have taken place at universities across the country — most notably at the Islamic university of Al-Azhar and at Cairo University. […]

Click here to view full article at www.nytimes.com

An al-Qaida-inspired group in Egypt’s volatile Sinai has warned the country’s military and police, urging troops to desert their ranks or face death at the hands of its fighters. Ansar Jerusalem, or Ansar Beit al-Maqdis as the group is known, said in a statement on militant websites Monday that it considers Egyptian troops to be infidels because they answer to a secular government. If the warning is ignored, Ansar Jerusalem says it "will be more determined to fight" the military and police. Like other Sinai-based militant groups, Ansar Jerusalem has been blamed for rising attacks against Egypt’s forces since a July coup toppled the country’s former Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi. The group has also said it was behind a September suicide bombing that targeted Egypt’s interior minister, who escaped unharmed. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, […]

Click here to view full article at hosted.ap.org

An al-Qaida-inspired group in Egypt’s volatile Sinai has warned the country’s military and police, urging troops to desert their ranks or face death at the hands of its fighters. Ansar Jerusalem, or Ansar Beit al-Maqdis as the group is known, said in a statement on militant websites Monday that it considers Egyptian troops to be infidels because they answer to a secular government. If the warning is ignored, Ansar Jerusalem says it "will be more determined to fight" the military and police. Like other Sinai-based militant groups, Ansar Jerusalem has been blamed for rising attacks against Egypt’s forces since a July coup toppled the country’s former Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi. The group has also said it was behind a September suicide bombing that targeted Egypt’s interior minister, who escaped unharmed. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, […]

Click here to view full article at hosted.ap.org