Merkel, Hollande to Discuss Egypt Crisis by Phone
French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel plan to discuss the Egypt crisis in a telephone call at 1200 GMT Friday, a diplomatic source said.
Hollande warned Thursday of the threat of "civil war" in Egypt, after a crackdown by security forces on supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi left nearly 600 people dead.
Both Berlin and Paris had summonsed the Egyptian envoys in their countries Thursday, as did several other EU powers, to condemn the country's worst violence in decades.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius warned Friday of "a very, very worrying situation" for the entire region and warned of the risk of extremists exploiting the turmoil.
"Egypt is an absolutely critical country in the Arab world," he said on RTL radio.
More bloodshed was feared as Egypt's Islamists called for a "Friday of anger", while the U.N. urged "maximum restraint" from all sides.
Source: Agence France Presse
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