Qatar 'Condemns' Egypt Killings
Gas-rich Qatar, a key backer of the Muslim Brotherhood to which Egypt's Mohammed Morsi belongs, condemned the killing of 42 loyalists of the ousted president on Monday, and called on all Egyptians to abandon violence.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which has led demonstrations against last Wednesday's overthrow of Morsi, said its supporters were "massacred" when police and troops fired on them during dawn prayers outside an elite army headquarters in Cairo.
"Qatar strongly condemns such unfortunate acts that take away innocent lives," a foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement published by the official QNA news agency.
The emirate urged "self-restraint" and "national unity" as it called for "dialogue to preserve security, safety, and stability" in Egypt.
The spokesman, who was not named, also urged Egyptian authorities to "protect peaceful protesters and their right to express their opinions and positions".
Qatar had cautiously congratulated Adly Mansour when the Egyptian army appointed him as the interim president replacing Morsi.
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, who abdicated as the ruler of Qatar last month in favor of his son Sheikh Tamim, was staunch supporter of Arab Islamist movements and provided key political and financial support to Morsi's government after the 2011 uprising that toppled veteran Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak.
On Monday, Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman called for "abandoning violence in all its states and finding a political exit in Egypt that would guarantee political and civil rights of all and protect the achievements of the January 25, (2011) revolution".
Influential Sunni cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian-born Qatari and seen as a spiritual guide to the Muslim Brotherhood, slammed the "massacres committed against peaceful protesters" and urged the army to "protect all demonstrators".
He renewed an earlier call to "respect the will of the Egyptian people" and "restore" Morsi as president.
On Saturday, Qaradawi issued a religious decree, or fatwa, urging Egyptians to support Morsi.
Qaradawi, 86, is a regular commentator on Doha-based Al-Jazeera satellite television and has millions of supporters.
Source: Agence France Presse
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