With Morsi out, Saudi Arabia and UAE pledge aid worth billions

CAIRO, Jul 10: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have pledged a total of US$8 billion aid to Egypt, showing their support for the Egyptian army's coup against President Mohamed Morsi, the country's first democratically elected leader.
■ SHOT DEAD ... A Morsi supporter seen on the ground after he was shot dead outside the Republican Guard barracks in Cairo, July 5

Saudi King Abdullah’s decision to give Egypt a $5 billion aid was announced on Tuesday, a day after army soldiers shot dead at least 55 pro-Morsi protesters in Cairo.

The Saudi package will include a $2 billion interest-free deposit in the Central Bank of Egypt, a $1 billion donation and $2 billion worth of oil and gas products.

Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf said that the aid was intended to "support the Egyptian economy faced with the challenges which the country is going through".

Meanwhile, the UAE also said on Tuesday that it would grant $3 billion in aid to Egypt -- $1 billion of donation and a $2 billion interest-free deposit in the central bank.

In a televised speech late on July 3 night, Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced that Morsi was no longer in office and declared that the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Adly Mahmoud Mansour, had been appointed as the new interim president of Egypt.

The army also suspended the constitution.

Army officials said ousted President Morsi, who took office in June 2012, was being held “preventively” by the military and might face formal charges over accusations made by his opponents.

Mansour was sworn in as interim president in a ceremony in Cairo on July 4, where he vowed to “preserve the system of the republic, and respect the constitution and law, and guard the people’s interests.”

On Friday, tens of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood activists and their supporters took to the streets across the country to protest against the coup, and clashes broke out between pro-Morsi and opposition protesters and security forces that left 36 people dead and more than 1,000 injured.

Earlier on Friday, Muslim Brotherhood supreme leader Mohammed Badie said the military coup against Morsi was illegal and millions would remain on the street until Morsi was reinstated as president.

In the wee hours of Monday morning, a deadly shooting at the site of a sit-in by Muslim Brotherhood activists and their supporters in Cairo, demanding the reinstatement of Morsi, left 84 people, including several children, dead.

Muslim Brotherhood officials said that the victims were offering morning prayers when they were shot dead.

The Egyptians launched the revolution against the pro-Israeli regime on January 25, 2011, which eventually brought an end to the 30-year dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak on February 11, 2011. Press TV.