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| Egyption Polls in 2012/UN Women via Flickr CC |
As the unrest in Egypt continues, the U.S. state department has issued a follow up travel advisory
that supersedes the warning issued in July.
The new warning is in concurrence with the declared state of emergency
in Egypt. The government of Egypt has
also issued a curfew for citizens and visitors in the country from 7 p.m. to 6
a.m. Unrest has been prominent in Egypt
since there was a revolution to oust the regime of Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Protests and resistance have flared up during
the constitutional changes in 2012, the anniversary of the revolution in
January of 2013, and the change in government in June of 2013. The state department said there is no
evidence of the violence and demonstrations subsiding, and that it would be
unsafe for Americans to be involved.
Violent protests
have happened predominantly in urban areas; including Cairo, Giza, Alexandria
and Port Said. Reports of violence have
spread to rural areas as well, however.
Violence against women is a primary concern, as many women have been
subject to sexual assault during anti-government demonstrations. So far, one American citizen has been killed
in the violence, and the state department has had to shut down its embassy on
several occasions due to proximity of violence.
Nonessential U.S. personnel have already been sent out of the country. U.S. Embassy employees and families are
restricted from entering the country or traveling to certain parts of the
region.
On July 3, 2013,
General Abdul-Fatah al-Sisi removed democratically elected president Mohamed
Morsi from power after several weeks of protests. Morsi is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood
party, and clashes between Muslims and non-Muslims have been escalating. The United States has made a decision not to recognize the event of the military take overas a coup, because that would mean an end to the strategic partnership the
U.S. and Egypt have. The U.S. reaction
has been fuel for criticism.
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