CAIRO — Egypt's interim authorities have nominated lawyer Ziad Bahaa El-Din, who is a member of the leftist Egyptian Social Democratic Party, as deputy prime minister, Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi said Friday. “I have chosen Dr. Bahaa El-Din as deputy prime minister and sent the nomination to the president,” Beblawi said, adding he was holding talks with other candidates for his new cabinet that he expects to be formed within a few days. Economist Beblawi was named prime minister to lead an army-backed government following the military's overthrow of elected head of state Mohamed Mursi on July 3. The appointment came as Morsi supporters protested in Cairo after a week of violence in which more than 90 people were killed in a bitterly divided nation. More than a week after the army toppled Egypt's first elected leader after a wave of demonstrations against him, Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood is trying to mobilize popular support for his reinstatement, which for now looks like a lost cause. At a Cairo mosque where Morsi supporters have held vigil for more than two weeks, crowds swelled as people were bussed in from the provinces, where the Brotherhood has strongholds. The streets of Cairo were otherwise quiet on Friday, the weekly Muslim day of prayer, in the holy month of Ramadan. The youth-led Tamarud group, which brought millions of people to the streets to demand Morsi resign, has called for a Ramadan celebration in Tahrir Square, the cradle of the uprising that overthrew Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Officials say Morsi is still being held at the Republican Guard compound in Cairo, where troops killed 53 protesters on Monday in violence that intensified anger his allies already felt at the military's decision to oust him. Four members of the security forces were also killed in that confrontation, which the military blames on “terrorists”. Morsi's supporters call it a massacre and say those who died were praying peacefully when troops opened fire. Many of Egypt's 84 million people have been shocked by the shootings, graphic images of which have appeared on state and private news channels and social media. The incident occurred just three days after 35 people were killed in clashes between pro- and anti-Morsi demonstrators across the country. “It's a very hard time for Egyptians, to see footage of blood and violence during the holy month of Ramadan, and everyone I speak to says the same thing,” said Fateh Ali, a 54-year-old civil servant. The Brotherhood contends it is the victim of a military crackdown, evoking memories of its suppression under Mubarak. But many of its opponents blame Islamists for the violence, and some have little sympathy for the demonstrators who died, underlining how deep the fissures in Egyptian society are. Outside the Rabaa Adawiya mosque in northeastern Cairo, thousands of Brotherhood supporters gathered late on Thursday to mourn the dead in Monday's violence, the deadliest since Mubarak was toppled, apart from a 2012 soccer stadium riot. Women wailed and men cried as they watched a large screen showing grim footage of hospital scenes immediately after the shooting, with corpses on the floor and medics struggling to cope with the number of casualties being carried in. Hundreds of Egyptian flags fluttered. Songs of defiance were sung. Thousands of Islamists have camped out in searing heat, fasting in the daytime since Ramadan began on Wednesday. “This is a bloody military coup,” said Saad Al-Husseini at the vigil. “This is the biggest crime I have witnessed in recent history. Never before has blood been so cheap.” The camp has become the de facto base of the Brotherhood, whose leaders live under the threat of detention after the public prosecutor ordered their arrests earlier in the week. Judicial sources say Morsi is likely to be charged, possibly for corruption or links to violence. Prosecutors are also looking again at an old case from 2011 when Morsi and other Brotherhood leaders escaped from prison after being detained during anti-Mubarak protests. — Reuters
