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    May 02, 2012

Pre-Election Violence Kills At Least 11 in Egypt's Capital

   Edward Yeranian
   A protester protects a detained "thug" from other protesters who want
   to beat him during clashes between Islamist protesters and armed
   "thugs" in Cairo May 2, 2012.
   Photo: Reuters
   A protester protects a detained "thug" from other protesters who want
   to beat him during clashes between Islamist protesters and armed
   "thugs" in Cairo May 2, 2012.

   Pre-election violence has erupted in the Egyptian capital, Cairo,
   killing at least 11 people, wounding more than 100 others, and
   prompting several presidential candidates to suspend their campaigns.
   Egyptian medical and security sources confirmed the death toll in
   Wednesday's fighting, which began at dawn when assailants raided a
   protest camp occupied by hundreds of activists opposed to the
   military-backed government.
   Protesters' demands
   The mostly Islamist protesters had been camping near the Egyptian
   defense ministry in Cairo's Abbassiya district since Saturday,
   demanding an immediate end to military rule in Egypt. The protesters
   fought back against the assailants, described by some witnesses as
   pro-government "thugs." The rival groups attacked each other with
   firebombs and stones. Gunfire also was heard at the scene.
   Egypt's military rulers initially did not intervene in the fighting.
   They sent in troops and armored vehicles to separate the two sides
   after several hours.
   The two leading Islamist candidates for the Egyptian presidency
   responded to the violence by suspending their campaigns for the
   election, which begins on May 23 and 24.
   Government response

   Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood announced a two-day suspension
   in solidarity with the victims. The Brotherhood also declared a boycott
   of a meeting with Egypt's ruling military council planned for later on
   Wednesday.
   The other leading Islamist candidate, Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh,
   cancelled his next campaign events in protest at how authorities
   handled the Cairo street battles.
   Egypt's presidential election will be the first since a popular
   uprising ousted longtime autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak in February
   2011.
   The military council that took over from Mubarak has promised a
   democratic transition and a transfer of power to an elected president
   by July 1. But, Egypt's generals have faced strong domestic criticism
   for their handling of that process, which has been plagued by periodic
   eruptions of deadly violence, often surrounding anti-government
   protests in major cities.
   Many of the protesters camped outside the Egyptian defense ministry are
   Islamists who were angered by the ruling military's decision to bar
   ultraconservative Islamist cleric Hazem Abu Ismail from standing in the
   presidential contest. Egypt's election commission disqualified Abu
   Ismail because his mother had taken joint U.S. citizenship.
   Some liberal pro-democracy activists had joined the Islamists at the
   encampment in calling for Egypt's ruling generals to step down
   immediately.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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