Egyptian police detained two
leaders of a Muslim Brotherhood-allied party in the latest in a wave of arrests
of prominent Islamists, while the European Union's top diplomat held talks
Monday with officials in Cairo in an attempt to mediate an end to the country's
crisis, officials said.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine
Ashton's visit to the Egyptian capital is her second since the army ousted
Islamist President Mohammed Morsi on July 3. The trip underscores the alarm
felt in the West over the violence that has killed more than 260 people and all
but dashed hopes of political reconciliation in the deeply divided country.
The bloodiest incident took place
over the weekend, when security forces killed at least 83 Morsi supporters in
clashes in Cairo. Human Rights Watch and field doctors interviewed by The
Associated Press said many of the dead were killed by gunshots to the head and
chest.
Security officials said Monday
that a police captain died of wounds sustained during those clashes after being
hit in the eye with birdshot from protesters. The officials spoke on condition
of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
The weekend clashes, which the
Brotherhood has described as a "massacre," came after millions took
the streets to show their support for Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah
el-Sissi. The mass turnout followed a call from el-Sissi for rallies to give
him a mandate to deal with violence and "potential terrorism" a thinly veiled reference to expected
crackdowns on Morsi supporters who are holding sit-in camps in Cairo.
Egypt's authorities have rounded
up several Brotherhood leaders and other prominent Islamists since Morsi's
ouster. The circle of those in custody expanded late Sunday after authorities
arrested two figures from the Brotherhood-allied Wasat Party and took them to
the capital's Tora prison.
Security officials said that
Abul-Ela Madi and Essam Soltan, who faced arrest warrants linked to allegations
of inciting violence, were found hiding in a home in a Cairo neighborhood
located near the main protest site of Morsi's supporters.
In a bid to try and mediate a
solution to the crisis, the EU's Ashton has planned meetings with both sides
Monday. She met with el-Sissi, Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy as well as Vice
President Mohamed ElBaradei. Her office said in a statement she was also to
meet with interim President Adly Manour.
The Brotherhood's political wing
says four of its members and Morsi's ex-prime minister, Hesham Kandil, are
holding talks with Ashton as well.
In a statement before arriving to
Cairo, Ashton said she is going to speak to all sides to reinforce that
"there must be a fully inclusive transition process, taking in all
political groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood."
Reactions:
The White House condemned the
Egyptian military's bloody weekend crackdown on demonstrators on Monday but
took no immediate steps to suspend U.S. military assistance to Egypt.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the
crackdown, in which 80 people were gunned down in Cairo, sets back the process
of democratization in Egypt and does not square with the interim government's
pledge to swiftly return to civilian rule.
But asked if the violence would prompt the
United States to suspend aid to Egypt's military, Earnest said: "I don't
have any change in our posture to report to you today." He said aid is
under review, as it has been since Egypt's military takeover on July 3.
Tourism:
Cairo airport officials say seven
flights to Egypt have been cancelled and that others are arriving with less
than 50 percent occupancy following weekend clashes that killed 84 people.
Passengers from Yemen, Saudi
Arabia, Sudan and Italy as well as Syria and Lebanon were rerouted Monday onto
other planes because of low seat occupancy.
Political turmoil over the past
2 years has hurt tourism in Egypt,
weakening the country's economy.
AP