‘Civil disobedience’ call alarms Egypt’s military

CAIRO

A man paints images of people who died during clashes on a wall near Tahrir. REUTERS photo

Egypt’s army said Feb. 8 it will deploy troops across the country after activists called for “civil disobedience” to mark the anniversary of Hosni Mubarak’s ouster, state media reported.

“The Armed Forces decided to deploy their troops in the various Egyptian governorates to protect private and public property, secure main roads and nab outlaws and thugs,” the official news agency MENA said. “The decision came as part of the Armed Forces’ efforts to restore the state’s prestige and help the police in preserving security and restoring stability to the Egyptian streets,” MENA said quoting an army statement. Students from several universities and pro-democracy activists have called for “a general strike and civil disobedience” on Feb. 11, the anniversary of Mubarak’s ouster, in a statement posted on the Internet.

Dempsey heads to Cairo
Aside from the tension in the country, army rulers in Egypt are refusing to back down in a dispute with the United States over Cairo’s crackdown on nonprofit groups despite Washington’s threats to cut aid. To ease the tension, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, will travel to Egypt for talks with military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. Dempsey’s spokesman, Col. Dave Lapan, said Feb. 8 the trip has long been planned, but that the nonprofit spat will come up if it hasn’t been resolved. He said Dempsey would talk with Egypt’s leaders about “choices and consequences,” but declined to elaborate. On Feb. 5, Egyptian investigative judges brought 16 Americans and 27 others to trial on accusations they illegally used foreign funds to foment unrest in the country.

Compiled from AFP and AP stories by the Daily News staff.