A group of countries on the United Nations Human Rights Council say they are concerned about the Egyptian government's use of violence in its crackdown on opposition protesters.
The declaration today was by 27 countries, among them the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Turkey. It represents the first reprimand from the international body since security forces forcibly dispersed supporters of former Islamist President Mohammed Morsi on August 14, killing hundreds.
The declaration said, "We express concern about the restrictions on the rights to peaceful assembly, expression and association, and about the disproportionate use of lethal force by security forces against demonstrators which resulted in large numbers of deaths and injuries."
The declaration also said that the government should be held accountable, no matter the security challenges it faces.
