Two more killed in Egypt clashes with police as Morsi flies to Berlin

The Egyptian Health Ministry said that two protesters died Wednesday in clashes with police near Tahrir Square in Cairo. Both of the victims were hit by buckshot. One died at the scene, the other died in hospital.

The death toll now stands at 54, with another 2,100 injured, since violence broke out last Thursday on the eve of the second anniversary of the Egyptian revolution.

An eyewitness told local media that the two male protesters were shot by a group of people in civilian clothes armed with knives and shotguns, but this could not be immediately verified.

Egypt's public prosecutor, Talaat Abdallah, urged security forces to seize members of the Black Bloc group that took part in the protests in Cairo, Alexandria and the Suez Canal cities, MENA news said.

According to media reports, there is not much information about this group, whose first post on its Facebook page was dated Jan. 21 but has swiftly garnered 29,000 followers. Its slogan is "chaos against injustice" and it says it has one enemy only—the Muslim Brotherhood group from which President Mohamed Morsi hails.

"We do not seek to destroy any government or private buildings, we are not against police, our battle is with the Brotherhood only," the group says on its Facebook page.

Meanwhile, Morsi flew to Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a visit shortened to just a few hours. MENA said the visit will center on bilateral cooperation, as well as the situation in Egypt.

German magazine Der Spiegel reported that Germany's foreign minister warned that financial aid to Egypt, is contingent upon democratic progress. Berlin's offer of help "depends on advances in the democratic development in Egypt," Guido Westerwelle said.

And in a new development, Mohamed ElBaradei, a leading figure in the opposition National Salvation Front, has called for urgent talks between representatives of the country's factions to try to stop the ongoing violence.

"We need an immediate meeting between the president, defense and interior ministers, the ruling party, the Salafis and the National Salvation Front to take urgent steps to halt the violence and start serious dialogue," ElBaradei wrote on his Twitter account.

Opinion:

It's good that ElBaradei has asked for dialogue with the government, to prove to the Egyptian people that the opposition does not oppose Morsi as a person or for being member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but rather because Morsi has not given any attention to achieving the objectives of the Egyptian revolution. Morsi has directed all his attention to implementing the goals of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is controlling every nook and cranny in Egypt.

According to Germany, the reason for Morsi's visit is to reduce Egypt's €240 million debt and try to persuade them to resume economic assistance. However, German's media stated that Morsi did not succeed in his mission and failed to secure aid for Egypt.

Based on the above, Morsi should understand that security and stability in Egypt will be the only condition for resuming aid supply, in addition to Western and Arab projects in Egypt.

I think the demonstrations calmed down in Egypt because of bad weather, not because of police force or Morsi's imposition of a curfew in Suez's cities. Bear in mind the opposition has called for demonstrations Friday to demand early presidential elections and to save the revolution from Brotherhood's control.

Sources:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4339053,00.html

http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-2-protesters-killed-cairo-clashes-125302507.html

http://www.alwatanvoice.com/arabic/news/2013/01/31/355601.html

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=301526

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/egypts-morsi-flies-to-berlin-for-crisis-shortened-visit-media-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=40131&NewsCatID=359