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| Egyptian Army gives Islamists deadline as huge rallies loom - Charlotte Observer Posted: 25 Jul 2013 05:55 PM PDT CAIRO The Egyptian Army gave supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi until Saturday to join the "national ranks" or face an expected crackdown, while potentially huge rival rallies have been called for Friday by the military and Islamists. "The general commander of the armed forces has given a 48-hour deadline for a backdown and to join the national ranks," the army said in a statement late Thursday, quoted by the state-run Middle East News Agency, without explicitly naming Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood. In the statement, titled the "last chance," the army said that after the mass rallies called by army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi on Friday, the military would adopt a new strategy against "violence and ... terrorism." "The armed forces and police will not allow any infringement of national security whatever sacrifices are." Al-Sissi, who led Morsi's overthrow on July 3, has called on Egyptians to take to the streets to give the army a mandate to crack down on "violence and terrorism." In Sinai, two army soldiers were killed Thursday in an attack on a border post, the state-run newspaper al-Ahram reported online. Four other soldiers were wounded in the latest in a series of attacks in the peninsula, which borders Israel and the Gaza Strip. Islamist insurgents are believed to be responsible. Meanwhile, Hesham Qandil, Morsi's last premier, has proposed a three-phase plan to ease the country's deep crisis. In a video message released Thursday, he called for freeing key Islamists detained since Morsi's toppling, and allowing an unspecified team to visit the Islamist leader, who is in army custody, to make sure he is in good health. Qandil, who was named prime minister in August 2012, suggested that sides of the crisis agree on "general principles whose details can be negotiated later." "Then comes the third phase of this initiative, namely details of the roadmap that should fulfill legitimacy and listen to the people's voice," he said, without elaborating. A roadmap, announced by the army following Morsi's ouster, envisages amending a controversial constitution drafted by Islamists and holding parliamentary and presidential elections. The Brotherhood and allied Islamists have rejected both the formula and the military-backed government. Brotherhood chief Mohammed Badie has compared the army's overthrow of Morsi to an attack on Islam's holiest site, calling on supporters of the Islamist group to stage mass rallies Friday against what he called "the bloody military coup." "I swear by God that what al-Sissi did in Egypt exceeds the enormity of his clutching an axe and destroying the holy Kaaba one stone after the other," Badie said, referring to the holy site in Mecca, where Muslim pilgrims go on hajj. Badie appeared to appeal to the religious sentiment of Brotherhood supporters in a verbal escalation against the military. He urged al-Sissi to repent or risk "shame in this life and exquisite torture in the hereafter," quoting verses from the Koran, in a message posted on the Brotherhood website. Badie was last seen in public on July 6. Several arrest warrants have been issued against him on charges of inciting violence. He is believed to be hiding in a mosque in Cairo where Morsi loyalists have been protesting for four weeks. Morsi's supporters and opponents plan rival mass demonstrations Friday, raising fears of violence. Dozens of people have been killed in clashes since the army removed Morsi after millions protested to demand he step down. The National Salvation Front, a major anti-Islamist alliance, has called on Egyptians to turn out in large numbers in response to al-Sissi's call. The bloc said in a statement: "The Brotherhood supporters have gone too far in triggering national divisions and crossed the red line by calling for defections and splits in the army." The Brotherhood has condemned Morsi's removal as a coup and vowed to continue protesting until he is restored to office. |
| Tragedy in Hialeah: 7 dead in hostage standoff - MiamiHerald.com Posted: 27 Jul 2013 07:06 AM PDT A hostage standoff and shootout left seven people dead Saturday at a Hialeah apartment building as investigators worked to piece together what happened. The violence started about 6:30 p.m. Friday, when building managers Italo and Samira Pisciotti went to speak with a fourth-floor tenant who lived with his mother, according to police and witnesses. The tenant fired about 15 to 20 shots at the Pisciottis, killing them. Italo was 78, Samira was 68. The unidentified shooter killed two other men and two other women by the time Hialeah SWAT moved in Saturday morning. Tactical officers stormed the building, shooting the gunman dead as he threatened to kill hostages. "At the time, the suspect was holding at least two hostages at gunpoint," police spokesman Carl Zogby said. All seven victims died on the scene at 46th Street and West 16th Avenue. No officers were hurt, Zogby said. "I saw my mother's dead body," said Shamira Pisciotti, who lives in a unit at the building her parents managed. "She died the moment she was shot, but it looks like my dad was still alive after he was shot." Pisciotti said her parents had gone to speak with the shooter about a complaint he had filed. "It seems like he was the one who shot my mom and my dad," she said. Friends and family at the scene identified one of the other victims as Carlos Gavilanez, who they said was 30 years old and married with two children. Gavilanez did not appear to be related to the Pisciottis. Another resident, Mirian Valdes, 70, said the Pisciottis had previously attempted to evict the tenant and tried to do so again on Friday. At least one of the victims lived in an apartment across the street from the main scene. Hialeah Sgt. Eddie Rodriguez said that man was walking into his building when the gunman fired at him from a balcony. The shooter holed himself up in a fifth-floor unit with two hostages. Talks between the gunman and police negotiators broke down about 2 a.m. Saturday, Rodriguez said, which is when SWAT went in. "We had a shootout, and we rescued both hostages," Rodriguez said. By mid-morning Saturday, dozens of police from Hialeah and other agencies surrounded the building, looking for clues and interviewing witnesses. Authorities were keeping cars from entering the area while media helicopters flew overhead. The apartment building houses about 90 families. Neighbor Claribel Dominguez said she heard the gunshots Friday and couldn't go to bed. "I haven't slept all night," she said |
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