After a long wait and much bloodshed Egyptians restored a semblance of democracy in the ‘Cradle of Civilization’ by ousting Hosni Mubarak on February 11, 2011. Then President Morsi was voted to power through a free and fair election that was held after 6o years in Egypt. But all these are bygone facts. The country is now even more divided than before, and showing no signs of understanding between the conflicting groups. Scores of Mohamed Morsi’s supporters were shot dead and thousands others injured in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Saturday. Supporters and opponents of Morsi staged mass rallies across the country on Friday, bringing hundreds of thousands into the streets. Running battles broke out at dawn, with police firing tear gas at stone-throwing protesters, said the international news agencies. Moreover, thousands of Morsi supporters and opponents of the removal of Morsi by army also took to the streets of the Mediterranean city of Alexandria on Friday, sparking fierce clashes that killed seven people and wounded 194.

There was no clear information on who started the overnight violence, with each side accusing the other of starting the clashes. Both the sides are shouting war cries and what is ominous from their uncompromising stands is that a civil war is likely to ensue in the country. Egypt’s interim interior minister has pledged that protests calling for the reinstatement of ousted president Mohamed Morsi would be dispersed soon. Speaking at a news conference he said security forces would act in a legal fashion to disperse the demonstrations as soon as possible. But use of force will only worsen the situation. It is surprising that the army which ousted Morsi on the plea of avoiding conflicts between the pro- and anti-Morsi supporters is itself now instigating violence. Egypt’s army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday called for rallies this week to grant him a mandate to fight ‘terrorism and violence’ as Mohamed Morsi’s supporters continue to protest his ouster. We think such comment of him is largely responsible for the Saturday’s bloodshed. When the army ousted Morsi all hoped that the takeover of the army would be short-lived and it should only work for restoring democracy in the country. Therefore, the army chief should immediately arrange talks among the conflicting groups. He should act as a negotiator among the groups, not take any side. We expect that the political leaders will take control of the steering to run Egypt. For that to happen they should first establish peace and stability in the country, come to their sense and put an end to protests in order to prevent further bloodshed.