Mursi Declares Curfew in 3 Cities, Vows “Justice” for “Criminals”

Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi warned late Sunday that that he won’t stand by in the wake of recent protests, declaring a limited state of emergency and suggesting more such moves could be in the offing.

“I will act, and now I am acting,” Mursi said in a nationally televised speech.

Mursi imposed a 30-day curfew in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez. Under his order, people in those governorates cannot go out between 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. The three northeastern Egyptian cities, all of them along the Suez Canal, have been sites of deadly clashes in recent days.

He also expressed his readiness to take stronger measures in an effort to tackle threats to the country’s security. Those “criminals” responsible will face “justice as soon as possible,” the president said. He added he has instructed the Interior Ministry, which oversees security forces, “to deal properly, and also with force, against those who attack the nation’s institutions.”

The remarks came after violence broke out in Port Said for the second consecutive day on Sunday in reaction to death sentences passed on 21 people by a court in connection with 2012 deadly football riots in the city in which 74 people were killed and 1,000 others injured.

The Sunday conflict, which left as many as seven people dead and over 460 others injured, occurred during a mass funeral procession held for most of 37 people, who were killed in clashes a day earlier, and when rioters exchanged gunfire with policemen at three police stations and outside Port Said’s main prison.

Since elected last year, Mursi has become a target of critics accusing him of amassing power for himself and his conservative allies.

Following Mursi’s declaration of state of emergency a few hundred people took to the streets in Ismailia and clashed with the police.

This comes as the president in his address invited the opposition and political leaders across the country for talks on Monday.

“There is no going back to freedom and democracy…the rule of law and social justice that the revolution has paved.”

Egypt’s main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, has reportedly welcomed Mursi’s measure.

On Friday, nine people were killed by gunfire during clashes between police and protesters in Suez on the second anniversary of the revolution that toppled former dictator Hosni Mubarak.