Egyptian Islamist groups offer olive branch to army
Two of Egypt’s former militant groups are offering an initiative to halt the country’s political violence, in which supporters of the ousted Islamist president will end street protests if the military-backed government stops its crackdown on them.
The initiative led by the Gamaa Islamiya and Islamic Jihad movements, which waged an insurgency in the 1990s, is aimed at starting talks between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood, the party of Mohammed Morsi, who was overthrown as president by the military on July 3 after millions took to the street demanding he step down.
Mr Morsi’s allies previously insisted he be restored to power as a starting point for talks, but Islamic Jihad leader Mohammed Abu Samra said negotiations had no “red lines”. The initiative is a sign of flexibility from the pro-Morsi alliance.