Afghan students in Egypt say they are safe

KABUL): Afghan students in Egypt on Friday said “they are safe and have faced no untoward incident so far” after bloody clashes in the country left more than 600 dead.

Egypt braced for more violence after the Muslim Brotherhood called for nationwide marches after Friday prayers and a “day of rage” to denounce this week’s unprecedented bloodshed.

The government has authorised the use of deadly force against protesters of the ousted president Mohammed Morsi while the international community has urged both sides to show restraint and end the turmoil engulfing the nation.

At least 638 people were confirmed killed and nearly 4,000 wounded in Wednesday’s violence, sparked when riot police backed by armored vehicles, snipers and bulldozers smashed the two sit-ins in Cairo where Morsi’s supporters had been camped out for six weeks to demand his reinstatement.

A member of the Afghan Students Union, Nasir Ahmad, told Pajhwok Afghan News over the telephone from Egypt that the Afghans remained safe and had been directed by their university administrations not to go out of the campuses and avoid taking part in the country’s politics.

He said nearly 300 Afghans were studying in various Egyptian universities and most of them had left for Afghanistan for annual vacations before the unrest began.

The Afghan government on Thursday condemned the massacre of civilian protestors by Egyptian security forces and expressed sympathies with families of those killed and wounded.

“It is the wish and hope of the Afghan government and its people for our brothers and sisters in Egypt to find a peaceful political solution soon, and to ensure there is no further violence as part of efforts to that end,” the Afghan Foreign Ministry said in brief statement.

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