Egypt postpones dispersing pro-Morsi camps
Security forces delay move on protesters to “avoid bloodshed”, as judiciary extends deposed president’s detention.
Egyptian authorities have postponed a move to disperse two Cairo sit-ins by supporters of the country’s deposed president Mohamed Morsi, to “avoid bloodshed,” security sources said, as Morsi’s detention was extended by 15 days.
Al Jazeera’s Rawya Rageh, reporting from Cairo, said that the decision not to disperse the protesters on Monday came after there were some leaks to the media about the possible intervention of security forces and larger groups started to attend those pro- Morsi sit-ins.
“A security source said that with the number of protesters swelling, armed forces decided to not move in the direction of these camps” our correspondent said.
“The dispersal did not happen arguably because of the international pressure. Now what security forces are doing is essentially measuring their every step”.
As protests continue, Egypt’s interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi, Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim and Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi are meeting with interim President Adly Mansour.
Egyptian security forces have been preparing to besiege the supporters of Morsi as protesters braced for a security crackdown, some of them joining marches heading to Rabaa al-Adawiya, one of the main protest sites.
Detention extended
Meanwhile, Egypt’s judiciary said it was extending Morsi’s detention for a further 15 days pending an investigation into his collaboration with the Palestinian Hamas movement.
Judge Hassan Samir, handling investigations against Morsi, renewed his detention pending charges of conspiring with Hamas to break into prisons and attack state institutions during the January 25 revolt that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak.
Morsi, overthrown by the military on July 3, was placed in detention on July 26 over his links with the Palestinian movement that rules the Gaza Strip.