CAIRO - Egypt on Tuesday urged U.S. authorities to exercise restraint in dealing with racially charged demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri - echoing language Washington used to caution Egypt as it cracked down on Islamist protesters last year. It is unusual for Egypt to criticize such a major donor. Ties between Washington and Cairo were strained after Egyptian security forces killed hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters following the army's ousting of freely elected President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry's statement Tuesday on the unrest in Ferguson read similarly to one issued by the U.S. in July 2013, when the White House "urged security forces to exercise maximum restraint and caution" in dealing with demonstrations by Morsi supporters. The ministry added it was "closely following the escalation of protests" in Ferguson, unleashed by the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer on Aug. 9. Human Rights Watch said in a report last week Egyptian security forces systematically used excessive force against Islamist protesters after Morsi was ousted.
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