Mursi Mulls Army Takeover of Port Said

Local Editor

Officials said Tuesday that the Egyptian president is considering whether to give the military full control of the restive city of Port Said after days of deadly street clashes stoked by excessive force used by riot police.

The officials said Mohammed Mursi met Tuesday with his security chief and top military officers to discuss pulling out the police and putting the military in charge of the Suez Canal city to defuse tensions.

The violence killed at least three civilians and three policemen and injured hundreds since Sunday. Some 420 people have been wounded since the protests started on Sunday, about 60 from shotgun wounds and live bullets, said Sayed al-Masry, head of Port Said's ambulance service.

The military sent reinforcement to Port Said late Monday, after protesters torched a government building and police headquarters there.

The officials from the Egyptian military and the presidential office spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.
The military, which described the clashes as "unfortunate" said in a statement on Facebook that the "great people" of Port Said were in the "heart and conscience of the armed forces".

It said it had made a promise to protect people and their property "whatever the sacrifices".

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org