UN urges Egypt to stop the violence

The secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon said to the government of Egypt that every death of an opposition affiliate in the protests just keeps away the possibility of overcoming the political crisis.

According to the UN spokeswoman, Morana Song, Ban Ki-moon spoke with Egypt’s interim vice president, Mohamed ElBaradei, to renew his call for the Egyptian military to release the overthrown Islamist president Mohamed Morsi or to ensure a transparent trial.

“He expressed deep concern about the path in which Egipt currently moves (…) and condemned the violence, a day after 72 people were killed in a protest in Cairo,” said Song.

According to the spokesperson, Ban also “called on the interim authorities to assume the entire responsibility for the peaceful management of the manifestations and to ensure the protection of all Egyptians, regardless of party affiliation.”

Egypt lives an undeclared civil war between opponents and supporters of the recently overthrown Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, which has caused dozens of deaths and hundreds of injured people and maintains a climate of violence since the first protest in January 2011 with the so-called “Egyptian revolution,” which forced the resignation of president Hosni Mubarak after nearly 30 years of power.

UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon