Turkish-Egyptian Relations Continue To Deteriorate As Egypt Takes Aim At Brotherhood Allies
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Daniel 11:40-43, “At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood. He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall … He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape. He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Cushites in submission.”
By Sarah Benhaida, AFP – “Locked in a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood since president Mohamed Morsi’s ouster, Egypt has launched a diplomatic offensive against the movement’s foreign backers armed with funds from its old foes.
In their first salvo soon after Morsi was toppled, the military-installed rulers took aim at Qatar — the only Gulf monarchy that openly supported the Brotherhood — by closing the Egyptian channel of Al-Jazeera television.
The authorities also detained some journalists working in Cairo for the Doha-based network.
In addition, officials said Cairo was willing to return to Qatar funds given to Egypt during the Morsi presidency.
But the main confrontation for the new authorities is a diplomatic one that has developed with Turkey.
On Sunday, Cairo expelled Ankara’s ambassador after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the repression of Morsi’s supporters.
The tussle began soon after Egyptian security forces broke up two camps of Morsi supporters on August 14 in Cairo, in what was the bloodiest episode in Egypt’s modern history.
A day later both Cairo and Ankara recalled their respective ambassadors, but while Ankara later sent its envoy back to Egypt, Cairo’s ambassador to Turkey stayed at home.
On Sunday, the two countries went a step further by reducing their diplomatic ties to the level of charges d’affaires.
Karim Bitar, a Paris-based analyst, said the row stems from ‘increasing Egyptian nationalism and bitter regional setbacks for Turkey, including in Syria, which has seen it lose influence’ in the region.
For Shadi Hamid, research director at the Brookings Doha Center, ‘Egypt’s ruling military leaders are clearly not tolerating any backing to the Muslim Brotherhood, either inside the country or outside’.
‘Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE have provided billions in aid to Egypt which is giving it the degree of latitude’ in its diplomatic tactics …” Read more.
Flashback: Newsweek: Turkey Trumping Islam Over Democracy, Seeks To Become Major World Power – “In seeking to become a major world power, Turkey’s rapid shift towards an Islamist theocracy means we may soon see this ‘King of the North’ make a stand on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood, the former Islamist rulers in Egypt and Turkish ally. And having one of the largest militaries in the Muslim world isn’t good news for the Egyptian military’s ‘King of the South’ General Al-Sisi, nor for Israel …” Read more.
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