Thursday, Aug 15, 2013
(This story was originally published on Wednesday.)
By Summer Said
Shipping operations on the Suez canal remain at normal levels Wednesday after security was increased on the strategically important shipping route as the military cracked down on antigovernment protestors in Cairo, a spokesperson for canal said.
The spokesperson said vital facilities across the country had been secured and were ready for all possibilities. Egypt is home to the Suez Canal and the SUMED pipeline, which carry oil from the Middle East to global markets.
The storming of protest camps at Rab'a al Adiwiya and Nahda squares in Cairo turned deadly Wednesday, though the reports of the death toll varied widely.
Mohammed Soltan, head of the ambulance authority at the Ministry of Health, said 10 civilians were killed and 98 were injured. The Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of ousted president Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, said the field hospitals the Brotherhood has set up in the two squares have recorded more than 300 deaths.
The Egyptian Interior ministry said one police officer died and nine were injured by gunshots that were fired to disperse the sit-ins.
Maria Abi-Habib and Leila Elmergawi in Cairo, and Sarah Kent in London contributed to this report
Write to Summer Said at summer.said@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
15-08-13 0417GMT
