Police Officer Killed In Egypt’s Sinai

Violence continues in Egypt as gunmen,
Friday, killed a police officer in Egypt’s restive
Sinai peninsula, according to the Interior
Ministry. The riot police officer was shot in the chest on
Friday while on patrol in the city of El-Arish,
the ministry said in a statement released on
Saturday. Attacks against security forces on the
peninsula have increased since a July 3
military coup deposed President Mohamed
Morsi. Since then, his supporters have been
organising regular protests calling for his
return. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry raised the toll
in Friday’s violence to eight people killed and
221 injured, most of them in clashes between
Morsi supporters and local residents. Those killed included two police officers shot
in a drive-by shooting which targeted their
police station in Cairo. Violence in Egypt peaked on August 14 when
police, backed by snipers and bulldozers,
attacked two Muslim Brotherhood-led sit-ins
in the capital. The move caused days of nationwide violence
that has killed hundreds of people, most of
them Morsi’s supporters. Many retaliated by attacking police stations,
torching churches and setting government
buildings on fire. Supporters of the deposed president have
shown their commitment to their cause, but
the government will continue on the
‘restoration’ path it has mapped out for Egypt. Egypt’s ambassador to Nigeria, Ashraf Salama,
Friday said, fresh elections that would usher in
a post Mohammed Morsi era will hold in March
2014, adding that, with the removal of Morsi,
the country is ready for a constitutional
amendment that would lead to fresh democratic elections. Speaking on the new road map to democratic
elections, the Egyptian envoy said, “a panel of
10 jurists have finished working on the
proposed amendments to the constitution. A
50-member committee representing
Egyptians from all walks of life will be formed in the next few days to discuss and review
those amendments and then present them in
a referendum which is due to be held after 60
days from the date of the formation of the
committee.” He added that the amendment process will
pave the way for the election of a new
parliament followed by presidential elections
in march next year. The envoy also accused Muslim Brotherhood
of not responding to the roadmap put in place
by the interim government to return Egypt to
democratic governance. ”Despite the continuous effort by the
government and other regional and
international mediators to convince the
Muslim Brotherhood to evacuate the sit-ins
peacefully and join the political process
outlined by the roadmap for the good of the nation, the leadership of the Brotherhood
refused to respond positively to those efforts
counting on violence as its winning card to
achieve political gains,” Salama said.