Cairo: The latest bombings at Egypt’s main university that killed a police brigadier signal a rise in violent attacks as the country is bracing for crucial presidential elections, according to experts.
“The Cairo University explosions (on Wednesday) came as no surprise and provides further proof that the terrorists will strike anywhere in their desperate attempt to intimidate the people in the run-up to presidential elections,” said Mamdouh Abdul Halim, a security expert.
Egyptians are due to vote for a new president on May 26 and 27 in what will be the country’s first election since the army deposed Islamist president Mohammad Mursi in July last year. Former army chief Abdul Fattah Al Sissi, the architect of Mursi’s ouster, is widely anticipated to win the vote.
“This terrorism may continue until the parliamentary elections (later this year). So, there is a need for tough penalties against those involved in these attacks to deter others. The culprits should be tried before special courts set up for terrorism crimes to ensure swift rulings,” Abdul Halim told Gulf News.
Egypt has experienced a wave of attacks, mainly targeting security forces, since Mursi was unseated following wide street protests against his troubled one-year rule.
The military-installed government has blamed the unrest on Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which has seen hundreds of its senior leaders detained and put on trial.
Egyptian authorities have declared the 86-year-old group a terrorist organisation, a designation shrugged off by the Brotherhood as politically motivated.
“We should expect the Brotherhood and its allies in the coming period to increase their violent protests and attacks in order to give the impression that the country is unstable,” said Abdul Halim. “This requires the firm implementation of the Demonstration Law,” he added, referring to controversial legislation that bans street protests without police permission.
In the wake of the attack in Cairo University, the government said it would deploy joint army-police patrols on the streets and take unspecified measures in what it depicts as a war against terrorism.
A shadowy group calling itself Egypt’s Soldiers claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Brotherhood has repeatedly denied any links to the violence. The National Alliance in Support of Legitimacy, a pro-Mursi coalition, has accused the military-backed authorities of “masterminding” the latest bombings that targeted a security checkpoint next to the university’s main gate, alleging they had originally been designed to target students.
The Brotherhood-led alliance has also called on its supporters for week-long protests to show solidarity with anti-military students in several universities, mainly Al Azhar University, which is a stronghold of Islamists.
Egyptian universities have been rocked in recent months by pro-Mursi protests and clashes between them and security forces. The government has accused the Brotherhood of manipulating students to derail a military-backed transitional plan that also provides for presidential and parliamentary polls.
“In addition to security measures, state authorities should demonstrate willingness to resolve the political crisis in the country,” said Hassan Nafae, a political science professor.
“The political solution should necessarily include all factions without exclusion,” he told the semi-official newspaper Al Ahram. “The absence of any political initiative increases the Brotherhood’s violence and protests.”
Several local and foreign bids to defuse tensions between Egypt’s new rulers and the Brotherhood have fizzled out with each side blaming the other for the violent stalemate.
