U.S. lawmakers on Sunday were split over whether to cut military aid to Egypt, a key regional ally, after its violent crackdown on supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.
While condemning the use of force by the military-backed interim government, many lawmakers expressed concern that halting aid would further erode U.S. influence over the most populous Arab country.

Egypt's army chief vowed Sunday to stand firm in the face of violence by Islamists, in his first remarks since a deadly crackdown on supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi.
"Whoever imagines violence will make the state and Egyptians kneel must reconsider; we will never be silent in the face of the destruction of the country," said Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi canceled some Cairo marches Sunday for "security reasons", as the military chief vowed to face down violent protests following Egypt's bloodiest week in decades.
The latest developments come as senior European Union diplomats were to hold emergency talks Tuesday in Brussels to discuss the situation in Egypt and any future EU action.

Around 10,000 people took part in a demonstration in the Moroccan capital on Sunday in support of Islamists in Egypt locked in a deadly showdown with security forces.
The crowd carried banners condemning the police operations that have cost hundreds of lives among demonstrators demanding the reinstatement of Egypt's army-ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi and posters showing the dead in makeshift morgues in Cairo.

European Union leaders, Herman Van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso, warned Egypt's army and interim government Sunday that the bloc was ready to "review" ties failing an end to violence and return to dialogue.
In a long statement, the presidents of the European Council and European Commission leaders warned that further escalation could have "unpredictable consequences" for Egypt and for the region and placed responsibility for a return to calm on the army and government.

Egyptian Islamists announced fresh demonstrations for Sunday after police ended a tense stand-off with protesters in a Cairo mosque, as the death toll from four days of violence surpassed 750.
Security forces on Saturday dragged Islamist supporters of deposed president Mohammed Morsi from the Al-Fath mosque, passing through angry crowds who called them "terrorists" and tried to beat them.

Two Irish women were arrested Saturday after being trapped with hundreds of people in a Cairo mosque surrounded by Egyptian security forces, one of them told Irish state broadcaster RTE.
The pair are children of the imam of Ireland's biggest mosque in Dublin and were on holiday in the Egyptian capital with a sister and a teenage brother who were also in the mosque.

Germany's foreign minister and his Qatari counterpart on Saturday condemned the spiraling violence in Egypt, urging political dialogue to avoid further bloodshed.
"We are deeply distressed by the ongoing and brutal violence in Egypt," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told journalists after meeting his Qatari counterpart Khaled al-Attiyah.

Saudi King Abdullah ordered on Saturday the dispatch of three fully-equipped field hospitals to Egypt, a day after backing Cairo in its deadly crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood protesters.
The move is aimed at "standing by and supporting the brotherly Egyptian people, and to reduce the pressure on hospitals there," said a Saudi official cited by SPA state news agency.

Egyptian authorities insisted Saturday that non-violent members of ousted president Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement could take part in the country's transition.
"Anyone from the Muslim Brotherhood or the non-Muslim Brotherhood who would like to come back to join the peaceful Egyptian march towards the future will be welcomed," presidential adviser Mustafa Hegazy said.
