Egypt says foreign mediation has failed to resolve crisis

Mr Morsi’s supporters have been holding daily protests since he was ousted

Egypt’s interim presidency says international efforts to resolve the political crisis which followed the deposing of Mohammed Morsi have failed.

Interim head of state Adly Mansour and his backers in the military have been talking to diplomats from the US, EU, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

More than 250 people have been killed in political unrest since Mr Morsi was ousted on 3 July after street protests.

Two US senators on Tuesday called for mediation with his Muslim Brotherhood.

But the Egyptian presidency declared in a statement that the “phase of diplomatic efforts has ended today”.

“These efforts have not achieved the hoped for results,” it added.

Brotherhood blamed

The presidency said it “holds the Muslim Brotherhood completely responsible for the failure of these efforts, and for consequent events and developments relating to violations of the law and endangering public safety”.

Interim authorities have repeatedly asked Brotherhood supporters to end two major sit-ins in Cairo. Diplomats have voiced concerns about the possible use of force to break up the protests.

Wednesday’s statement said there was “full Egyptian government support” for the move to end the sit-ins peacefully, the BBC’s Caroline Wyatt in Cairo notes.

But the sit-ins have lasted five weeks and the statement leaves people uncertain as to what will happen next, our correspondent adds.

The EU envoy, Bernardino Leon, and US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, were in Egypt for several days for mediation talks.

Interim Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei (l) talks to US envoy William Burns (c) and EU representative Bernardino Leon (r) as part of Cairo mediation efforts

“We will continue to do all we can to try and encourage people to get this inclusive dialogue going,” said EU spokesman Michael Mann.

“It is… important to see a return to the democratic transition in Egypt. We will continue our efforts.”

Mr Burns left Egypt on Wednesday, Cairo airport officials told the Reuters news agency.

Unrest continues

Clashes between Mr Morsi’s supporters and residents in the city of Alexandria have left one person dead and dozens wounded, Associated Press news agency reported.

Supporters of the former president have held daily street protests in Cairo and other cities.

Mr Morsi has been detained since he was deposed early last month. His whereabouts are not known. But the EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton visited him last week and said he was “safe”.

Violence was reported on Wednesday in Alexandria after an overnight protest

In their talks with Egyptian officials on Tuesday, the US Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham called for the release of political prisoners and negotiations between the Muslim Brotherhood – which Mr Morsi belongs to – and the authorities.

“Democracy is the only viable path to stability,” said Mr McCain. He called for “an inclusive political process in which all Egyptians are free to participate”.

Source: BBC News

Source: Egypt says foreign mediation has failed to resolve crisis

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