Interim president says foreign diplomatic efforts to defuse crisis between government and pro-Morsi camps have failed
Egypt's interim presidency has announced that foreign diplomatic efforts to negotiate a resolution to the standoff with the Muslim Brotherhood following the removal of President Mohamed Morsi have failed.
The statement, made by the acting head of state, Adly Mansour, on Wednesday, follows an effort by envoys from the US, the European Union and the Gulf states to defuse the crisis between the government and Morsi's supporters. Violent street clashes that erupted after the Brotherhood leader was deposed on 3 July have claimed more than 250 lives. His supporters have staged daily protests since.
Mansour said the international effort to broker a resolution that began more than 10 days ago "ended today", blaming the failure on the Brotherhood.
His announcement came amid reports from Egyptian security officials that a person was killed and dozens injured, some with gunshot wounds, in clashes between protesters critical of the army leadership and local residents in Alexandria.
Despite Mansour's announcement, the EU said on Wednesday it would press on with diplomatic efforts to prevent further bloodshed. Michael Mann, a spokesman for the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said he was unaware of the Egyptian presidency's statement but that EU envoy Bernardino León had been in Egypt for several days engaged in mediation efforts.
"We will continue to do all we can to try and encourage people to get this inclusive dialogue going, that is so important to see a return to the democratic transition in Egypt. We will continue our efforts," Mann told reporters.
Qatar has echoed the concerns of two senior US senators, who predicted further violent chaos after their visit to Cairo on Tuesday, unless Egypt released jailed Muslim Brotherhood leaders.
"My wish for the brothers in Egypt is to release the political prisoners as soon as possible because they are the key to unlocking this crisis," Qatar's foreign minister, Khaled al-Attiya, told al-Jazeera.
