33 Dead as Egypt’s Junta Continues to Crush Dissent

Cabinet Offers to Resign Amid Bloody Crackdowns

At least 33 people are dead today as Egypt’s military junta continues to move against civilian protesters who object to the idea that the military will retain unchecked power even after the convoluted multi-year series of elections takes place.

The protests began on Friday and continues to grow throughout the weekend. The junta’s cabinet has even offered to resign as the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has urged “crisis talks” with pro-democracy dissenters.

The violence has brought all campaigning for the elections, which were supposed to begin on Friday, to a complete halt. The military is insisting that they will continue as scheduled but with their plans to include in the constitution a formal assurance that the civilian government will never have real oversight over the military it seems mostly an afterthought anyhow.

Amnesty International, for their part, is condemning the junta, saying they have “completely failed” to protect human rights since taking over the country in the wake of the anti-Mubarak Revolution. There is a growing sentiment that this may mark the start of a second revolution, and a more serious one given how broad the military’s control over society has been.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.