US expresses worry over violence in Egypt

US expresses worry over violence in Egypt

The United States says it is worried by violence in Egypt and urged the army rulers to respect human rights as security forces wielding batons and firing teargas fought for a fourth day on Monday with protesters demanding an end to military rule.

Police and soldiers using batons drove stone-throwing protesters out of Cairo's Tahrir Square, hub of the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak in February, during the night but by dawn they had trickled back into the square.

Protesters, who hurled rocks at police, had fled down side streets, away from sensitive areas where parliament, the cabinet offices and Interior Ministry are located.

Concerns

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was ‘deeply concerned’ about the violence and urged the security forces ‘to respect and protect the universal rights of all Egyptians’.

In a statement to a nation which has received billions of dollars in US military and other aid, she also called on protesters ‘to refrain from acts of violence’.

Many Egyptians want to focus on building democratic institutions, not street activism, but have nevertheless been shocked by the tactics of security forces in and around Tahrir that have killed 10 people and wounded hundreds.

Violence

Soldiers in riot gear have been filmed beating protesters with batons even after they have fallen to the ground.

Protesters said they had seized four soldiers who had been part of formations who launched a charge in the early hours.

Late on Sunday, protesters had hurled petrol bombs at lines of security forces and chanted ‘Down with Tantawi’ a reference to Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi who heads the army council and was Mubarak's defence minister.

UN condemnation

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also condemned excessive use of force by security forces in Cairo protests that have widened a rift among Egyptians over the role of the army and cast a shadow over the country's first free election in decades.

Ban Ki-moon called on the transitional authorities to act with restraint and uphold human rights, including the right to peaceful protest.

The violence has overshadowed a staggered parliamentary election that is set to give Islamists the biggest bloc.

REUTERS/Ehimen/Williams