Islamist stronghold near Cairo.

Egypt police raid Islamist stronghold near Cairo.

Security forces determined to assert control over pro-Morsi areas, bring to justice killers of 15 policemen in attack last month

CAIRO | 24 Sep 2013 :: Egypt’s state TV said security forces raided a village near the Giza Pyramids west of Cairo hunting for suspects in the brutal killing of 15 policemen last month.

The Tuesday security sweep of Nahya, a stronghold for Islamist groups, was the latest move by authorities to assert control over towns and villages seized by supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi after his July 3 overthrow by the military.

The police officers were killed in the nearby village of Kerdasa, and their bodies mutilated, in apparent retaliation for an August 14 assault by the security forces on pro-Morsi protest camps that left hundreds dead. Security forces reoccupied Kerdasa last week, arresting scores of suspects.

State TV showed security forces in body shields and masked special commandos searching suspects’ home.(Courtesy:The Times of Israel)

Latest Egypt clashes kill 5 civilians, say Ministry.

Latest Egypt clashes kill 5 civilians, say 

Ministry.

Thousands of Mursi’s supporters had marched across the country
 on Friday denouncing the July 3 coup that overthrew the
 Islamist president. (File photo: Reuters)

Cairo | AFP | 31 Aug 2013 :: Five civilians died in clashes in Egypt on Friday when opponents and supporters of ousted President Mohammad Mursi clashed in several cities, the health ministry said on Saturday.

Three were killed in clashes in the Giza district in Cairo, one in the canal city of Port Said and one in the Nile Delta province of Sharqiya, the ministry said in a statement.

Thousands of Mursi’s supporters had marched across the country on Friday denouncing the July 3 coup that overthrew the Islamist president.

Separately, the interior ministry said two policemen were killed in militant attacks on Friday in North Sinai, where security forces have been battling a semi-insurgency since Mursi’s overthrow.(Courtesy:Al Arabia)

Egypt unrest: At least 6 killed in clashes near Cairo University.

Egypt unrest: At least 6 killed in clashes near Cairo University.

An Egyptian inspects destroyed cars following overnight

 clashes between opponents and supporters of ousted

 president Mohamed Morsi near the Cairo University in Giza,

 Egypt (Mohammed Saber, EPA / July 23, 2013)

CAIRO  | 23 Jul 2013 ::  Stones and gunfire killed at least six people early Tuesday as clashes between opponents and supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi intensified near Cairo University, which has become a central battleground in the country’s political unrest.

Violence between the two camps -- sometimes with the army and police in the middle -- has escalated in recent days as each side has provoked the other. More than 90 people have been killed nationwide since Morsi was toppled by a coup on July 3.

Thousands of Morsi supporters have been staging sit-ins at the university and across the Nile at the Rabaa al Adawiya mosque. Most of the anti-Morsi contingent has been hunkered in Tahrir Square. The sides have been edging closer to each other, including a march on the U.S. Embassy by pro-Morsi demonstrators Monday that sparked fighting with protesters in nearby Tahrir.

Supplies of smuggled weapons have increased the bloodshed. Both factions say they have been targeted by snipers. Pistols, including homemade guns, have often been used and many men stand on the front lines like urban warriors, wearing construction helmets and carrying shields of corrugated tin.

Interim President Adly Mahmoud Mansour has called for reconciliation that will turn to “a new page in the nation’s book. No contempt, no hatred, no divisions and no collisions.”

A political solution remains elusive. Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood party said it would not end its sit-ins or cooperate with the military-backed government until Morsi, the country’s first freely elected president, is reinstated. That is highly improbable, especially as a new coalition government has begun amending the constitution and preparing for parliamentary elections in six months.

The clashes highlight the country’s polarization but Morsi supporters do not appear to have the numbers to stop a political process that is moving quickly without their input or participation. The former president has been detained by the military without formal charges. His family has demanded his release, blaming the army for kidnapping him and arresting hundreds of Brotherhood members.

On Monday, Morsi’s daughter Shaimaa told reporters: "We hold the leaders of the bloody military coup fully responsible for the safety and security of the president."(Courtesy:Los  Angeles Time)