US urges Egypt to pull ‘back from the brink’ in ‘pivotal moment’

CAIRO (Reuters) – The United States urged Arab ally Egypt to pull “back from the brink” after security forces killed dozens of supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and opened a dangerous new phase in the army’s confrontation with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Thousands of Brotherhood supporters hunkered down at a vigil in a Cairo mosque on Sunday, vowing to stand their ground despite the imminent threat of a move to disperse them.

Washington, treading a fine line with an important Middle East ally and recipient of over $1 billion in military aid, urged the Egyptian security forces to respect the right to peaceful protest.

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke via telephone with Egyptian army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the July 3 military overthrow of Morsi and whose face has appeared on posters across Cairo, while US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to two senior members of Egypt’s army-installed interim cabinet, expressing his “deep concern.”

“This is a pivotal moment for Egypt,” Kerry said in a statement. “The United States... calls on all of Egypt’s leaders across the political spectrum to act immediately to help their country take a step back from the brink.”

Saturday’s violence, and the threat of more, has deepened alarm in the West over events in the country of 84 million people, a vital bridge between the Middle East and North Africa.

Over 200 people have died in violent confrontations since Sisi deposed Morsi on the back of huge popular protests against the Islamist former president, ending a one-year experiment in government by the Muslim Brotherhood after decades spent in the shadows under successive Egyptian strongmen.