Presidential candidate Amr Moussa issued a statement calling on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and the Cabinet to send security forces to Abbasseya to “stop the bloodshed among the people of the same nation.”
Moussa, a frontrunner in the upcoming election, said the ruling military council and the government should provide comprehensive medical care for the injured. He concluded his statement with: “Down with the rule of chaos.”
He also condemned the dispersing of demonstrations by force, and said that securing protesters is the duty of the government and all its bodies, which it has repeatedly failed to do.
Moussa added that he contacted several political forces to end the bloodshed, but this matter requires the intervention of the ruling powers.
Moussa did not say that he would suspend his presidential campaign over the violence.
Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh, Mohamed Morsy, Abul Ezz al-Hariry and Khaled Ali have suspended their presidential campaigns over killings in Abbasseya,
Several key political parties, including the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, also boycotted a meeting with the ruling generals in protest. The meeting, however, went ahead as scheduled to discuss efforts to create a panel to draft a new constitution.
Amnesty International also called on the Egyptian army to protect protesters amid increasing violence ahead of presidential elections.
“The Egyptian army and security forces initially did little to stop the clashes,” said Amnesty in a statement. “The army's intervention has come hours too late."
The statement continued: “There appears to be no will within Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to prevent these tragic events. After the weekend attack, the authorities should have been prepared for the violence.”
Moussa called on the SCAF to clearly announce its intention to transfer power on time to thwart attempts at spreading chaos.
Chief of Staff of the armed forces Sami Anan said on Wednesday the army may transfer power to an elected president on 24 May if the vote is decided in the first round, state television reported.
The military had previously said it would transfer power by the end of June. The presidential election is scheduled for 23 and 24 May and a run off for 16 and 17 June if there is no outright winner in the first round.
"We are looking into handing over power on 24 May if the president wins in the first round," state television quoted Anan as saying.
More than 100 people have been killed in outbreaks of violence, usually in the context of anti-government protests, since the beginning of the transitional period. The ruling military council has been accused of mismanaging the transition to democracy and using the same methods as Hosni Mubarak’s ousted regime.
