UN denounces violence against Egyptian protesters

The United Nations Human Rights Council has expressed concern over the Egyptian security forces’ heavy-handed crackdown and killing of peaceful anti-government protesters.

More than two dozen countries on the UN Human Rights Council said on Friday that Egyptian forces were resorting to “disproportionate use of lethal force” to curb the ongoing protests across the North African country.
“We express concern about the restrictions on the rights to peaceful assembly, expression and association, and about the disproportionate use of lethal force by security forces against demonstrators which resulted in large numbers of deaths and injuries,” the countries said in a statement, adding, “Security forces have a duty to respect the right to peaceful assembly… even when faced with persistent security challenges.”
Meanwhile, several people were killed across Egypt after anti-government protesters clashed with security forces during nationwide rallies on Friday.
Witnesses said at least seven people were killed in the capital Cairo alone. Casualties were also reported in the cities of Alexandria, Suez, and Sharqiya.
The protesters chanted slogans against Arab states which they said are supporting the Egyptian government.
The demonstrators accuse the government of Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb of being the army’s puppet, and trying to legalize corrupt policies.
In late January, Amnesty International criticized Egyptian authorities for using an “unprecedented scale” of violence against protesters and dealing “a series of damaging blows to human rights.”