Ferguson Protests: Egypt criticizes US

Egypt has re-echoed the words Washigton used “against” in July 2013 by urging authorities in the United States to “exercise restraint in dealing” with racially charged demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri, where police and protesters have continued to clash over the shooting of an unarmed black teen, Michael Brown, by a white police officer on August 9.

Police in US said early Tuesday that they came under heavy gunfire and arrested 31 people during another night of protests, in Ferguson, Missouri, sparked by the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer 10 days ago.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry’s statement on the unrest in Ferguson read similarly to one issued by U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration in July, 2013, when the White House “urged security forces to exercise maximum restraint and caution” in dealing with demonstrations by Morsi supporters.

The ministry added it was “closely following the escalation of protests” in Ferguson, unleashed by the fatal shooting of the unarmed black 18 year old by a white police officer.

Last year Egypt had gone on a crack down on Islamist protesters.

Ties between Washington and Cairo had gone sour after Egyptian security forces killed hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters following the army’s overthrow of the government of freely elected President Mohammed Morsi in July, 2013.

Reuters reports Human Rights Watch as saying in a report last week that: “Egyptian security forces systematically used excessive force against Islamist protesters after Morsi was ousted. Egypt said the report was “characterised by negativity and bias.”