Egypt: Clashes Spread, Mursi to Meet Judges
Local Editor
Two people have been reportedly killed in the continuous clashes in various Egyptian cities, as President Mohamed Mursi prepares to meet senior judges to try to ease violent clashes.
The violence at the Freedom and Justice Party headquarters in the Nile Delta town of Damanhour, south of Alexandria, as well as in Tahrir Square in Cairo left at least two dead and more than 400 wounded."Brotherhood member, Islam Fathy Masoud, 15, was killed and 60 were injured after thugs attacked the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters in Damanhour in the total absence of police forces," the party's website said.
It came amid widespread anger in Egypt over President Mursi's decision to award himself sweeping new powers.
Mursi had sought to calm the anger over the decree which effectively protects the president's decisions from any legal challenge.
"The presidency reiterates the temporary nature of the said measures, which are not meant to concentrate power, but... to devolve it to a democratically elected parliament... as well as preserving the impartiality of the judiciary and to avoid politicizing it," a statement from the president's office said.
The statement also reaffirmed that the new powers - which Mursi says were taken to protect Egypt's revolution from followers of former president Mubarak - would only apply until a new constitution is adopted.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian President will today meet senior members of the judiciary, which has changed little since the Mubarak era, after they called the move an "unprecedented attack" on their authority.
The country's highest judicial authority has hinted at compromise to avert a further escalation, although Mursi's opponents want nothing less than the complete cancellation of the decree they see as a danger to democracy.
Angry protesters have clashed with police this morning for the 7th consecutive day in central Cairo, as Egypt's stock market reacted with a nearly 10% fall.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org
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