Egypt’s Leader Seeks Order After Clashes
Egypt’s government sought to restore order after clashes erupted in central Cairo between supporters and opponents of the military ruling council, according to a posting by the nation’s Cabinet.
Protesters used knives and swords in the clashes yesterday and the army blocked the road leading to the defense ministry in Cairo, Al Jazeera reported. Egypt’s health ministry said at least 231 people were injured, the Middle East News Agency reported, quoting Abdel-Hamid Abatha, the health minister.
Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf called on political leaders and protesters to work on restoring order in the city, according to the posting.
In Saudi Arabia, the government said allegations by Amnesty International that an anti-terrorism law under consideration will be used to suppress dissent “are baseless,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday, citing a statement from the kingdom’s U.K. embassy.
Amnesty International said the proposed law will pose “a serious threat to freedom of expression in the kingdom,” according to a statement on its website.
An anti-terrorism draft law is under review at the Saudi Shoura Council, an appointed advisory body, SPA added.
In Syria, a train derailed in Homs yesterday en route to Damascus from Aleppo with more than 480 passengers, most of whom were patients traveling to undergo surgeries, the Syrian news agency, SANA, said. The driver of the train died, SANA reported.
‘Subversive Act’
“For sure, it is a subversive act,” George Essa, director of the railways authority in Homs, told the private website Syria News, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
The incident took place hours after mass anti-government protests across the country, in which at least nine people were killed, according to the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria, DPA reported.
Syria’s Army War College in Homs was struck by explosions in what may indicate divisions within the country’s military, Al Jazeera reported, citing a witness. Thirty soldiers and security personal were injured by “terrorist groups,” the official Syrian Arab News Agency said. The government denied reports that the military was divided.
In Yemen, two girls were killed and a boy injured when gunmen targeted their house in the province of Taiz, SABA said, citing an unidentified military official.
NATO aircraft struck at targets in the southeast of Libya’s capital, Tripoli, early today, the Associated Press reported, citing state television. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is supporting rebels trying to oust Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi with an air campaign that is in its fifth month.
To contact the reporters on this story: Meera Louis in Washington at mlouis1@bloomberg.net; Glen Carey in Dubai at gcarey8@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Geimann at sgeimann@bloomberg.net
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