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British foreign secretary calls for end to violence in Egypt

18 August 2013 05:14 (UTC +04:00)

Hague made the remarks during a telephone conversation with Egyptian interim Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy, the British Foreign Office said in a statement issued on Saturday.

"The foreign secretary and the Egyptian foreign minister spoke about the tragic violence and loss of life over recent days," a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.

"The foreign secretary emphasized UK condemnation of all acts of violence, whether disproportionate use of force by the security forces or violent actions by some demonstrators,” she stated.

"They also discussed the recent attacks on places of worship and the foreign secretary stressed that attacks on mosques and churches were unacceptable and that places of worship must be protected," the spokeswoman added.

Hague “underlined the need for urgent steps by all sides to end the violence and enable a return to dialog," she noted.

On August 16, tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Egypt in response to a call by the Muslim Brotherhood for nationwide protests on the “Friday of Rage” against the army and its hand-picked government.

According to Egypt’s Health Ministry, 173 people, including 53 security forces, were killed and 1,330 injured in clashes that broke out across the country between the demonstrators and security forces and Muslim Brotherhood opponents.

Egypt has been experiencing unrelenting violence since July 3, when the army toppled President Mohamed Morsi, the first democratically elected Egyptian head of state, suspended the constitution and dissolved the parliament. It also appointed the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Adly Mahmoud Mansour, as the new interim president.

The interim government in Egypt has been facing international condemnation over the killing of protesters. The brutal crackdown culminated in the massacre of nearly 640 people on August 14, when security forces cleared protest camps set up by Morsi supporters to demonstrate against his ouster.

Amnesty International has called for a thorough and unbiased investigation into the carnage.