There have been some very troubling developments in turmoil-ridden Egypt recently.
There were a series of blasts around Cairo University yesterday, which killed several people including a top police official.
A third blast struck near police deployed outside Cairo University close to where an earlier twin bombing killed a police general on Wednesday.The blast struck near the gates of the university in the center of the Egyptian capital and close to a roundabout where the two bombs exploded close to police posts….Those explosions killed at least two people – a police brigadier general and a civilian – and wounded seven, three senior police officers and four civilians.
Below is a video report of the incidents:
It appears that the universities have been the centers of protests in support of deposed president Mohamed Morsi.
…Clashes have frequently broken out between pro-Morsi students and security forces since the beginning of the new semester, which was delayed for three weeks due to security concerns.Two students died in clashes between protesters and police earlier this week at Al-Azhar University in Cairo.On 20 March, engineering students started a strike in protest against on-campus violence the day before, in which security forces clashed with pro-Brotherhood students….
Initial reports indicate that Sinai-based militant group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks. This group is notorious; for example, it assumed responsibility for the blowing up of a pipeline that exports gas to Israel and Jordan. After Morsi’s ouster, Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis has concentrated on hitting army and police targets.
Additionally, over 500 Morsi supporters have been sentenced to death recently by Egyptian courts.
They were convicted of charges including murdering a policeman and attacks on people and property.The group is among some 1,200 Muslim Brotherhood supporters on trial, including senior members….The verdict now goes to Egypt’s supreme religious authority, the Grand Mufti (a senior Islamic scholar), for approval or rejection.Campaigners say that while death sentences are often handed down in Egypt, few have been carried out in recent years.
As I have reported, Egypt’s vital tourist industry has been severely impacted by the country’s struggle. The following news will not help the situation:
Britain has sent a security services team to assess the vulnerability of the major Egyptian tourist resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to an increasing terrorism threat, the Telegraph has learned.As thousands of holiday makers prepare to fly out to the southern Sinai region for Easter holidays, the government has also put its travel advice to the resorts in the area under close review.The security team – believed to include members of the British armed forces – made the trip after a tourist bus was hit by a roadside bomb in Taba, near the Israel border, killing the driver and three South Koreans in mid-February.
(Image from Today World News video).
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