Death toll from Egypt violence rises to 421

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CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian Health Ministry spokesman has further raised the death toll from the previous day's clashes between police and supporters of the country's ousted president to 421.
The spokesman, Khaled el-Khateeb, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the number of injured in the previous day's violence has also risen to 3,572. He says the ministry was in the process of updating the latest figures and that an even higher death toll was likely. Wednesday's violence began when police moved to clear two sit-in camps in Cairo by supporters of Mohammed Morsi, ousted in a military coup on July 3. The clashes there later spread to elsewhere in Cairo and a string of other cities. The violence prompted the government to declare a nationwide, month-long state of emergency.

Police storm protest camps; 278 dead across Egypt
By HAMZA HENDAWI and MAGGIE MICHAEL

CAIRO (AP) — Riot police backed by armored vehicles, bulldozers and helicopters Wednesday swept away two encampments of supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, setting off running street battles in Cairo and other Egyptian cities. At least 278 people were killed nationwide, many of them in the crackdown on the protest sites.
Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and pro-reform leader in the interim government, resigned in protest over the assaults as the military-backed leadership imposed a monthlong state of emergency and nighttime curfew.
Clashes broke out elsewhere in the capital and other provinces as Islamist anger spread over the dispersal of the 6-week-old sit-ins by Morsi's Islamist supporters that divided Egypt.
It was the highest single day death toll since the 18-day uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
The Health Ministry said 235 civilians were killed and more than 2,000 injured, while Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim said 43 policemen died in the assault. He said Morsi supporters attacked 21 police stations and seven Coptic Christian churches across the nation, and assaulted the Finance Ministry in Cairo, occupying its ground floor.
The violence drew condemnation from other predominantly Muslim countries, but also from the West, with Secretary of State John Kerry saying it had dealt a "serious blow" to Egypt's political reconciliation efforts.
The assault to take control of the two sit-in sites came after days of warnings by the interim administration that replaced Morsi after he was ousted in a July 3 coup. The camps on opposite sides of the capital began in late June to show support for Morsi. Protesters — many from Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood — have demanded his reinstatement.
The smaller camp was cleared relatively quickly, but it took hours for police to take control of the main sit-in site, which is near the Rabbah al-Adawiya Mosque that has served as the epicenter of the pro-Morsi campaign.
Several senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood who were wanted by police were detained after police stormed the camp near the mosque, according to security officials and state television. Among those seized were Brotherhood leaders Mohammed el-Beltagy and Essam el-Erian, and hard-line cleric Safwat Hegazy — all wanted by prosecutors to answer allegations of inciting violence and conspiring to kill anti-Morsi protesters.
Police dismantled the main stage near the mosque in the eastern Cairo district of Nasr City, the official MENA news agency said. An AP reporter saw hundreds of protesters leaving the sit-in site carrying their personal belongings.
Smoke clogged the sky above Cairo and fires smoldered on the streets, which were lined with charred poles and tarps after several tents were burned.
In imposing the state of emergency, the government ordered the armed forces to support the police in restoring law and order and protect state facilities. The nighttime curfew affects Cairo and 10 provinces.
The Egyptian Central Bank instructed commercial banks to close branches in areas affected by the chaos. The landmark Giza Pyramids and the Egyptian Museum also were closed to visitors for the day as a precaution, according to the Ministry of Antiquities.
The turmoil was the latest chapter in a bitter standoff between Morsi's supporters and the interim leadership that took over the Arab world's most populous country. The military ousted Morsi after millions of Egyptians massed in the streets at the end of June to call for him to step down, accusing him of giving the Brotherhood undue influence and failing to implement vital reforms or bolster the ailing economy.
The coup provoked similar protests by Morsi's backers after he and other Brotherhood leaders were detained as divisions have deepened, dealing a major blow to hopes of an end to the turmoil that followed the 2011 revolution against Mubarak.
Morsi has been held at an undisclosed location. Other Brotherhood leaders have been charged with inciting violence or conspiring in the killing of protesters.
"The world cannot sit back and watch while innocent men, women and children are being indiscriminately slaughtered. The world must stand up to the military junta's crime before it is too late," said a statement by the Brotherhood's media office in London emailed to The Associated Press.
ElBaradei, a former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, was named only last month as interim President Adly Mansour's deputy for foreign relations.
In his resignation letter, he wrote that he is not prepared to be held responsible for a "single drop of blood," and that only more violence will result, according to a copy that was emailed to The Associated Press. He said Egypt is more polarized than when he took office.
The smaller of the two protest camps was cleared of protesters by late morning, with most of them taking refuge in the nearby Orman botanical gardens on the campus of Cairo University and the zoo.
An AP reporter at the scene said security forces chased protesters in the zoo. At one point, a dozen protesters, mostly men with beards and wearing traditional Islamist garb, were handcuffed on a sidewalk under guard outside the university campus. The private ONTV network showed firearms and ammunition allegedly seized from protesters.
Security forces later stormed the larger camp near the mosque in the Cairo district of Nasr City. The mosque has served as the epicenter of pro-Morsi campaign, with several Brotherhood leaders wanted by police believed to be hiding inside.
The pro-Morsi Anti-Coup alliance claimed security forces used live ammunition, but the Interior Ministry, which is in charge of the police, said its forces only used tear gas and that they came under fire from the camp.
The Interior Ministry statement also warned that forces would deal firmly with protesters who were acting "irresponsibly," suggesting that it would respond in kind if its men are fired upon. It said it would guarantee safe passage to all who want to leave the Nasr City site but would arrest those wanted for questioning by prosecutors.
Army troops did not take part in the two operations, but provided security at the locations. Police and army helicopters hovered over both sites hours after the police launched the simultaneous actions shortly after 7 a.m. (0500 GMT).
The Health Ministry said 149 people were killed and 1,403 injured across Egypt, but it did not immediately provide a breakdown.
An alliance of pro-Morsi groups said Asmaa Mohammed el-Batagy, the 17-year-old daughter of the senior Brotherhood figure who was detained by police, was shot and killed. Her brother, Ammar, confirmed her death on his Twitter account.
Two journalists were among the dead — Mick Deane, 61, a cameraman for British broadcaster Sky News, and Habiba Ahmed Abd Elaziz, 26, a reporter for the Gulf News, a state-backed newspaper in the United Arab Emirates, the news organizations reported. Both had been reported to be shot.
A security official said 200 protesters were arrested at both sites. Several men could be seen walking with their hands up as they were led away by black-clad police.
The Muslim Brotherhood's political arm claimed that more than 500 protesters were killed and some 9,000 wounded in the two camps, but those figures could not be confirmed and nothing in the video from AP or local TV networks suggested such a high death toll.
Before he was detained, Mohammed el-Beltagy put the death toll at more than 300, urged police and army troops to mutiny, and said Egyptians should take to the streets to show their disapproval of the crackdown.
"Oh, Egyptian people, your brothers are in the square. ... Are you going to remain silent until the genocide is completed?" said el-Beltagy, who is wanted by authorities to answer allegations of inciting violence.
Police fired tear gas elsewhere in Cairo to disperse Morsi supporters who wanted to join the Nasr City camp after it came under attack. State TV also reported that a police captain had been abducted by Morsi supporters in the area, but there was no official statement about that.
Islam Tawfiq, a Brotherhood member at the Nasr City sit-in, said the camp's medical center was filled with dead and that the injured included children.
"No one can leave and those who do are either arrested or beaten up," he told AP.
Security officials said train services between northern and southern Egypt were suspended to prevent Morsi supporters from traveling to Cairo. Clashes erupted on two roads in the capital's upscale Mohandiseen district when Morsi supporters opened fire on passing cars and pedestrians. Police used tear gas to chase them away.
The security officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.
Churches belonging to Egypt's minority Coptic Christians were torched in four provinces south of Cairo — Minya, Assiut, Sohag and the desert oasis Fayoum. In the city of Bani Suef south of Cairo, protesters set three police cars on fire. Farther south in the Islamist stronghold of Assiut, police used tear gas to disperse pro-Morsi crowds in the city center.
Morsi supporters want him reinstated and are boycotting the military-sponsored political process, which includes amending the Islamist-backed constitution adopted last year and holding parliamentary and presidential elections early next year.
The U.S. gave a stern warning to Egypt's leaders, with Kerry condemning the violence as well as the restoration of emergency rule. He urged them to calm the situation.
"This is a pivotal moment for all Egyptians," said Kerry, who spoke by phone with the foreign minister. "The path toward violence leads only to greater instability, economic disaster and suffering."
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office called it "a serious blow to the hopes of a return to democracy," while Iran warned that the violence "strengthens the possibility of civil war."
British Prime Minister David Cameron, who also condemned the violence, called for "a genuine transition to a genuine democracy. That means compromise from all sides — the President Morsi supporters but also the military."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged all Egyptians to focus on reconciliation, while European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said dialogue should be encouraged through "peaceful protest, protecting all citizens and enabling full political participation."
At least 250 people have died in previous clashes since the coup.
Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president, had just completed a year in office when he was toppled. He has largely been held incommunicado but was visited by Ashton and an African delegation.
Several bids by the U.S., the European Union and Gulf Arab states to reconcile the two sides in Egypt in an inclusive political process have failed, with the Brotherhood insisting that Morsi must first be freed along with several of the group's leaders who have been detained in connection with incitement of violence.
The trial of the Brotherhood's leader, Mohammed Badie, and his powerful deputy, Khairat el-Shater, on charges of conspiring to kill protesters is due to start later this month. Badie is on the run, but el-Shater is in detention. Four others are standing trial with them on the same charges.
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Associated Press reporters Tony G. Gabriel in Cairo, Mamdouh Thabet in Assiut, Egypt, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Eritrea in Critical Defense Corruption

By Betre Yacob
Eritrea, one of the smallest nations, is known to be most militarised country in Africa. According to different sources, the number of its army is estimated to be more than 600,000—which is approximately 20% of its total population. Many, for this reason, call the country the “North Korea of Africa”. To our surprise, a recent study has also revealed that this smallest nation has not only a huge defense force but also most corrupted. According to the study, titled “Government Defense Anti-Corruption Index 2013”, the Eritrean Defense Force is among the top 9 most corrupted defense forces in the world.
The study released by Transparency International UK (TI-UK), which is said to be intended to provide governments and citizens with valuable information on how their defense ministries and armed forces compare to others in tackling defense corruption, has listed the Eritrean defense force in the “F- Band” or in “Critical Category of High Defense Corruption”—along with ALGERIA, ANGOLA, CAMEROON, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, EGYPT, LIBYA, SYRIA, and YEMEN.
The study, the first ever evaluation of corruption vulnerability and risk in defense ministries and armed forces, assessed 82 countries, selected according to the size of their arms trade and the total and per capita size of their militaries. The assessment was done using a comprehensive questionnaire of 77 questions, clustered into five potential risk areas (such as “Political risk”, “Finance Risk”, “Personnel Risk”, and “Procurement Risk”), and scores were given to counties in bands A to F— with A being “Very low” ; with D being “High” ; and F “Critical.”

According to the study, Eritrea scored “F” in almost all questions. For instance, the country scored “F” in questions related to budget scrutiny, internal audit, and external audit.
The study shows that Eritrea ranks below all sub-Saharan countries which are known for suffering from conflict, political instability, poor governance, and internal divisions. Even its neighbouring Ethiopia, one of the most repressive nations, ranks better— listed under “D-Band.” “Eritrea exhibits very poor results, beset by networks of patronage, highly secretive government and, again, a legacy of conflict”, the study says.
Under Financial corruption risk, the study reveals that asset disposals are not monitored, controlled, and transparent in Eritrea. It further exposes that beyond illegal spending of official government budget, there is potentially illicit use of budgets earmarked as secret, often kept out from public and legislative oversight in the name of ‘national security’. “It concerns corrupt behaviour associated with both licit and illicit military-owned businesses and with unauthorised private enterprise by military personnel”, the study reads.
The study also says that six of the nine most corrupted countries in “Band F” have military expenditure as a proportion of GDP in excess of 2 per cent, and Eritrea is one of them. According to the study, Eritrea’s expenditure is more than 4 per cent.
The study indicates that the citizen of Eritrea should give attention to the defense corruption. This is because, the study says: “corruption often leads to impunity, undermining public trust; it threatens citizens’ security, such as when the military’s ability to act with impunity puts peoples’ lives at risk.”
The study, which put a spotlight on the widespread corruption in Eritrea, finally recommends different actions to be taken both by the Eritrean government and people. For instance, it suggests the government to analyse the corruption risks in the national defense and security establishments, and develop and implement an action plan to tackle the identified risks. It further says: “Make secrecy the exception, not the norm. Publish the defense budget in detail each year, including the percentage of the budget that is secret. Ensure that secret spending is subject to oversight that is secure but nonetheless is independent of the military and the executive.”
Eritrea is one of the most poorest countries in the world. Its GDP, one of the smallest in Africa, is 2.61 billion. And 60% of its GDP is also covered in debt. According to Fox Business report, 65% of the population of Eritrea suffer under extream poverty.

The Heroic Ethiopian Journalist Eskinder Nega

By Betre Yacob
Ethiopian prominent Journalist and blogger Eskinder Naga is one of those who have been arrested, interrogated, and threatened in Ethiopia, for exercising freedom of expression. He is currently serving his jail sentence in Kality, a notoriously brutal prison in Addis Ababa, where dozens of political prisoners are suffering. Judged a “terrorist” by the regime’s kangaroo court, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2012, along with other critical journalists and bloggers.
Ethiopia is one of the leading repressive nations in the world. Particularly, the repression of freedom of expression is the most severe in this poor East African nation more than any other country. According to Amnesty International, during the past three years only, over 100 prominent journalists and influential political activists were prosecuted on fabricated charges of terrorism, and too many others were also subjected to harassment, intimidation, threat, and other violence.
Eskinder Naga, 45, is a brave and most admirable journalist and blogger that the world has ever seen. What makes him exceptional is his commitment to freedom of speech even in the face of grave risks. According to his profile, he has courageously worked as a journalist for more than twenty one years and been jailed 8 times in the past two decades only. Until his last day in freedom, he courageously wrote about the political crisis of his impoverished country Ethiopia, and bravely fought falsehoods, brutality, and oppression with the power of words. Today, this exceptional courage, resistance, and commitment to freedom of expression have made him a glorious hero in Ethiopia and a symbol of press freedom in Africa.
Eskinder served as a vital voice for independent journalism in Ethiopia that hungers for access to free information, and as inspiration for many journalists and human right activists. He found 4 most prominent newspapers which were eventually closed by the Ethiopian regime that continues its tight grip on press freedom. He has also worked as a columnist at different publications, and been a contributor of many Ethiopian online medias and news forums.
Eskinder was arrested on 14 September 2011, just a week after he had posted an article which criticises the anti-terrorism law that had been adapted by the Ethiopian government in 2009 to target perceived opponents, stifle dissent, and silence journalists. He was detained without charge and access to a lawyer. The government announced that he was accused of organizing terrorism nearly two months later. During the trial, the prosecutors claimed that Eskinder had been coordinating different activities of terrorism using his constitutional rights to freedom of expression as a cover. The evidences submitted by the prosecutors were, however, relied on his public writings and other journalistic activities. Based on such evidences, Eskinder was finally said “terrorist”, and sentenced to 18 years in prison on 10 November 2012, under the anti-terrorism law he questioned.
When Eskinder was arrested, he was bringing his 6 years old son from kindergarten. According to his wife Serkalem Fasil, the police stopped them on their way and would not even let Eskinder bring the kid home. She said that they had brutally split the boy from his father. She further said that the police officers had been recording and taking pictures as the boy had been crawling on the ground and crying watching his father who had been thrown around and handcuffed. The Committee to Protect Journalists asserted that the charge against Eskinder was baseless and politically motivated in reprisal for his writings, adding: “his conviction reiterates that Ethiopia will not hesitate to punish a probing press by imprisoning journalists or pushing them into exile in misusing the law to silence critical and independent reportings.”
The saddest reality is that the very harsh sentence handed down to Eskinder Nega was not the end but the beginning. On September 2012, the Federal High Court further ordered the property of Eskinder Nega (which includes a house and car) to be confiscated. But, surprisingly, notwithstanding these all painful punishments, Eskinder continues writing his dissenting views. For instance, in his recent article entitled “From Ethiopia’s Gulag”, which was smuggled from the prison, he criticised the Ethiopian brutal regime and recommended the US government to take appropriate action against it. In this article, he also warned that Ethiopia could be imploded in the near future as the result of the standing political and humanitarian crisis.
Born in 1968 in Addis Ababa, Eskinder had studied high school and college in the United States of America (USA). Upon completing his study, he returned to his home land Ethiopia and began to work as a journalist in 1991, with the objective to hold the Ethiopian government accountable to its democratic promise and promote democracy and freedom.
In 2005, following the controversial election in which government troops brutally killed more than 193 unarmed peaceful protesters and wounded another 763, Eskinder was arrested and charged with serious crimes such as treason and genocide. This was for the 3rd time that he was jailed for practicing journalism, but what makes this one too different was that he was not alone but with his then pregnant wife, Serkalem Fasil, a journalist and newspaper publisher, who later gave birth to a son with no pre-natal care in her very small and crowded cell. Eskinder and his wife were released in 2007, by presidential pardon. Up on his release, Eskinder was banned from publishing his newspaper–named Satenaw, and denied a license to launch a new publication. But, this didn’t stop him from speaking out. He was able to write his dissenting views online, until he got arrested.
Eskinder Nega is the recipient of the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award.