The Obama administration claims to be staying neutral in the violent confrontation between the military-backed government and Muslim Brotherhood supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi. More than 600 people have been killed so far across the country.

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With at least 638 people killed, the violence marks the deadliest day in Egypt since the 2011 uprising that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak. The Post’s Abigail Hauslohner is reporting from Cairo.

A day after Egyptian soldiers and police killed hundreds of people when they stormed two camps set up by the Muslim Brotherhood to call for the reinstatement of deposed president Mohamed Morsi, a separate government statement pledged the use of “all power” to confront the organization, setting the stage for further bloodshed in the days ahead.

Oil shipments also rely on the 200-mile Sumed pipeline, which runs across Egypt, connecting the Gulf of Suez to the Mediterranean Sea. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Persian Gulf oil producers move more than three-quarters of their oil exports to Europe by way of the Sumed pipeline.

As a result, this morning we notified the Egyptian government that we are canceling our biannual joint military exercise which was scheduled for next month. Going forward I’ve asked my national security team to assess the implications of the actions taken by the interim government and further steps that we may take as necessary with respect to the U.S.-Egyptian relationship.

Let me say that the Egyptian people deserve better than what we’ve seen over the last several days. And to the Egyptian people, let me say the cycle of violence and escalation needs to stop. We call on the Egyptian authorities to respect the universal rights of the people. We call on those who are protesting to do so peacefully and condemn the attacks that we’ve seen by protesters, including on churches. We believe that the state of emergency should be lifted, that a process of national reconciliation should begin, that all parties need to have a voice in Egypt’s future, that the rights of women and religious minorities should be respected, and that commitments must be kept to pursue transparent reforms of the constitution and democratic elections of a parliament and a President.

„Wir sind der Ansicht, dass der Notstand beendet werden sollte“, sagte Obama am Donnerstag in Washington.

„Wir haben die ägyptische Regierung davon in Kenntnis gesetzt, dass das Manöver nicht stattfindet“, sagte Obama am Donnerstag in Washington. Die Entscheidung wurde wegen der drastischen Zuspitzung der Lage im nordafrikanischen Land nach der Absetzung von Präsident Mohammed Mursi getroffen.

17:35 Als erste politische Gruppierung haben sich nun die Revolutionären Sozialisten Ägyptens geäußert. In einer Stellungnahme erklärt die trotskyistische Partei, die nicht im Parlament ist, man habe den Umsturz Anfang Juli mitgetragen, verurteile die Politik des »Kriminellen« Mursi, und auch die Muslimbruderschaft lehne man ab.

The Security Council will be briefed behind closed doors by U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson at 22.30 British Time. The meeting was jointly requested by council members France, Britain and Australia.

France, Britain and Australia on Thursday jointly requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the deadly violence in Egypt, diplomats said.

by Pepe Escobar:

Egypt‘s ‘bloodbath that is not a bloodbath’ has shown that the forces of hardcore suppression and corruption reign supreme, while foreign interests – the House of Saud, Israel and the Pentagon – support the military‘s merciless strategy.

Die internationale Empörung, die während des Militärputsches in Ägypten im Juli verdächtig leise ausgefallen war, ist letztendlich zum Vorschein gekommen, nachdem die Polizei zivile Demonstranten attackierte, die die Rückkehr der gewählten Regierung forderten, und dabei Hunderte tötete und Tausende verletzte.

The Obama administration on Wednesday condemned the Egyptian military’s bloody crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood protesters, but showed no signs of taking any tough steps, like suspending American aid, in response.

„We had a political plan that was on the table, that had been accepted by the other side (the Muslim Brotherhood),“ said EU envoy Bernardino Leon, who co-led the mediation effort with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns.

„They could have taken this option. So all that has happened today was unnecessary,“ Leon told Reuters in a telephone interview

The EU‘s special envoy to the Middle East, Bernardino Leon, has said the Egyptian army rejected a peace deal with the Muslim Brotherhood a few hours before the killing in Cairo began.

Internationale Diplomaten haben bis zuletzt versucht, das Massaker in Kairo zu verhindern. Kurz vor der Räumung der Protestlager wollten sie die Regierung für eine politische Lösung gewinnen. Laut EU-Vertretern waren die Muslimbrüder offen für Verhandlungen – das Militär lehnte ab.

Die Bewegung werde nicht ruhen, bis „der Militärputsch“ gegen den von ihnen unterstützten Präsidenten Mohammed Mursi der Vergangenheit angehöre, erklärte ein Sprecher über den Kurznachrichtendienst Twitter. Dabei würden die Muslimbrüder „stets gewaltfrei und friedlich“ vorgehen.

The small drone is banned as a propaganda tool, but activists have brought in some from outside Egypt.