'US sends warships, troops to Egypt'

USS Kearsarge warship

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/164038.html

The US is sending warships, including one with 800 troops, and other military assets to Egypt as the revolution in the North African country gains momentum.

Officials in Washington have stated that the move is to be prepared in case of an evacuation of Americans from Egypt.

Pentagon has dismissed widespread assumptions that military intervention in Cairo is being contemplated, asserting that the objective of the deployment is mainly for the evacuation of US citizens in case the situation in Egypt further deteriorates.

Separately, a US aircraft carrier has been asked to abort its mission and stay in the Mediterranean.

The move comes after reports last month that a US Army aviation regiment had been mobilized for deployment to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula to back the Multinational Force and Observers overseeing the Egypt-Israel peace treaty.

The recent move comes against the backdrop of deepening political stalemate in Egypt, where swarms of demonstrators are still spilling out into central Cairo's Liberation Square, demanding the ouster of embattled President Hosni Mubarak.

On Sunday, opponents of Mubarak, including Egypt's main opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, held negotiations with Vice President Omar Suleiman as part of efforts to extract the country out of its political standoff.

Muslim Brotherhood, however, has discarded the regime's proposed reform plans, asserting that protesters would not accept anything but Mubarak's resignation.

In another development, US President Barack Obama called for a "representative government" in Egypt after government and opposition parties failed to narrow down their differences.

Millions of Egyptians took to the streets on Sunday to honor hundreds of protesters killed during the anti-government rallies of the past 13 days.

According to the United Nations, at least 300 people have so far been killed and thousands more have been injured during nationwide protests in Egypt.