U.S. WILL CUT AID TO EGYPT

       Washington, 5 Dzul Hijja 1434/10 October 2013 (MINA) – The State Department said Wednesday that U.S. will withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Egypt amid a crackdown by the country’s military-backed regime.

      The U.S., which provides up to $1.5 billion in aid annually to the Arab nation, will withhold delivery of certain large-scale military systems and cash assistance to the Egyptian government, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.

      But Psaki did not provide a dollar amount, World Time.com quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

      The aid will be withheld “pending credible progress toward an inclusive, democratically elected civilian government through free and fair elections,” Psaki wrote in the statement. 

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      Some of the items to be withheld include Abrams tanks, F-16 aircraft, Apache helicopters and Harpoon missiles.

      Psaki added that the US will continue to provide health and education assistance and money to help Egypt secure its borders, counter terrorism and ensure security in the Sinai.

      Administration officials, and some members of Congress, hoped that the threat would prevent a harsh crackdown on Morsi’s supporters.

      But hundreds of them were killed in August, when the army cleared two pro-Morsi sit-ins in the capital, prompting the Obama administration to review its aid to Egypt.

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      The decision marks the White House’s most significant response yet.

      The U.S. previously canceled biennial joint military exercises with Egypt and suspended delivery of four F-16 fighter jets.

       An anonymous U.S. official told the Associated Press that the latest suspensions include 10 Apache helicopters worth about $500 million.

      Colonel Ahmed Ali, a spokesman for the Egyptian army, declined immediate comment, Al Jazeera reports.

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      The call for a civilian government comes amid increasing talk that General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the defence minister and the architect of Morsi’s ouster, might run for president. (T/P09/E1).

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).

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