US allows non-emergency diplomatic staff to leave Egypt amid unrest

The US says it has allowed a small number of its non-emergency diplomatic staff in Egypt to leave the North African country, following the killing of a US citizen in the recent unrest in the Egyptian city of Alexandria.

In a travel alert issued late on Friday, the US State Department said that it has “authorized the departure of a limited number of non-emergency employees and family members.”

The State Department described the situation in the port city of Alexandria and other Egyptian cities as volatile and cautioned US citizens “to defer non-essential travel to Egypt at this time due to the continuing possibility of political and social unrest.”

“US citizens are urged to remain alert to local security developments and to be vigilant regarding their personal security.”

Meanwhile, the State Department’s acting deputy spokesman Patrick Ventrell said in a statement issued on Friday evening, “We can confirm that a US citizen was killed in Alexandria, Egypt.”

“We are providing appropriate consular assistance from our embassy in Cairo and our Bureau of Consular Affairs at the State Department. We do not have further information to provide at this time.”

According to Egyptian security sources, a young US cameraman was stabbed to death in Alexandria outside the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was set on fire by anti-government protesters. An Egyptian protester was also shot dead in the city.

Earlier in the day, Egyptian clerics warned of “civil war” and appealed for calm.

In a televised address on Wednesday, Morsi said the polarization of the country’s political life is “threatening to paralyze” Egypt.

He acknowledged that he had made some mistakes during his first year in office but called for national reconciliation, saying that he was open to cooperating with the opposition on constitutional reform.

Several political groups say the government is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood. The opposition also accuses Morsi of deviating from the 2011 revolution that toppled the Western-backed regime of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Morsi’s supporters, however, say the president is cleansing Egyptian institutions of corruption but he needs time to realize the ideals of the 2011 revolution.