Egypt: Now what? Civil war?

[BrainGlutton]

Army opens fire on pro-Morsi protesters.

At least three supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi were killed by gunfire as a crowd of several hundred tried to march towards the military barracks in Cairo where he is believed to be held.

Al Jazeera’s Matthew Cassel, reporting from near the military barracks, said several dozen people were also injured by shotgun pellets fired by the army.

“One protester broke away from the rally to stick a pro-Morsi poster on the barbed-wire around the barracks. He was shot in the head with birdshot,” he said.

Security forces were cordoning the Republican Guard barracks but it was not immediately clear who had opened fire.

An army spokesman denied that troops opened fire on supporters, saying that soldiers were using only blank rounds and teargas. It was unclear whether security forces other than the army were present.

The interior ministry also denied that people were killed in the clashes.

Pro- and anti-Morsi factions clash near Tahrir Square.

Supporters and opponents of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi have been engaged in running street battles in the centre of Cairo after the pro-Morsi camp staged massive protests in the capital and other places across Egypt.

A crowd of Morsi supporters surged across the 6th October Bridge over the Nile River in Cairo after nightfall on Friday and clashed with opponents of the deposed president.

One man was seen apparently firing a gun, while gunshots could he heard in the area. People were seen throwing rocks as the two sides advanced and retreated in turn on the bridge near Tahrir Square.

At least two people were killed and more than 70 injured, a state TV reporter said, quoting medical personnel at a makeshift hospital in the square.

Another 17 people were killed in clashes around the country involving Morsi opponents and backers, as well as security forces, state TV reported, quoting health ministry officials.

[BrainGlutton]

Another clash in Cairo, 42 dead.

[tagos]

@BrainGlutton

Exactly. And the existence of an army like that is incompatible with a democratic republic. Look at how iffy is Turkey’s status as a democracy, let alone Pakistan’s.

Look how ‘iffy’ that status is with a ‘moderate’ Islamic Government.

[NotfooledbyW]

@John_Mace

My guess is that the Islamist (whether part of the MB or not) are going to resort to violence and terrorism if they are not in the driver’s seat, politically. Not good times ahead, I’m afraid.

I can agree that ‘not good times’ are ahead whenever violence is widespread in any society , but… There should be a proper perspective.

So what should a secularist or moderate or modern-minded Egyptian do? Give in to the Muslim Brotherhood for fear of violence and terrorism. Was the American Revolution - not ‘good times’ as it was a better long term outcome ‘eventually’ although like all revolutions usually it was - grounded in violence. The French Revolution was quite bloody too.

US policy should be to respect whatever government that can get itself elected by ballots and not violence and terror, even if it is too fundamentalists to suit our individualistic, secular senses and national security interests. But carefully providing support for the secularists and moderates over fundamentalists which right now may only be done through the Egyptian military is the proper route to go.

Suicide bombers etc are a tough and harsh reality… to deal with… but I have a sense that youthful modernist Egyptians can survive a wave of violence such as that and finish the revolution they started when Mubarak was removed from power. But you can’t have a revolution toward something better if fear of violence kills it before it can start.