Washington, January 30: US President Barack Obama has met his national security team in Washington to discuss the uprising in Egypt and has urged the Egyptian government to embrace reform.
Obama also advised Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to tell his security forces to show restraint toward protesters.
During the one-hour meeting on Saturday, the US president was updated on the situation in North Africa.
He said the US is opposed to violence, upholds universal rights, calls for restraint, and supports Egyptian efforts at political reform.
Vice President Joe Biden, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, and senior advisor David Plouffe attended the meeting.
The number of people killed in protests in Egypt since last Friday is reported to have exceeded 100. More than 2,000 were also injured in clashes that have rocked Cairo, Suez, and Alexandria.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s main opposition movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, is calling for the establishment of an interim government without the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP).
The Brotherhood said there should be a peaceful transfer of power and advised Egyptians to continue to hold protests.
The Muslim Brotherhood has warned that Egypt will explode if Mubarak continues to refuse to listen to the people’s demands.
——–Agencies