1/28/2013: 1530 CST   SUEZ CANAL TRAFFIC APPEARS NORMAL

EGYPT'S SUEZ CANAL THROUGH TRAFFIC APPEARS TO BE MOVING NORMALLY DESPITE UNREST IN PORTS ALONG THE BANKS

Port Said Suspended Work on Saturday as the Death Toll Mounted in the Violence Plagued City. Some Factories and Work Places along the Banks have been Closed for One or More Days.

Port Said and the Mediterranean mouth of the Suez canal

 Violence erupted in Port Said over the weekend, as well as in the canal side cities of  Ismaiia, and Suez. However the Canal Authority reported a near normal 44 ships had entered the canal by mid day Saturday. However there are reports that the Canal Authority Branch Office in Port Said has to be protected by government troops.Port Said is located at the northern end of the canal, and troops are also reported protecting the southern end at Suez. Canal headquarters is located near the middle of the canal right of way in the city of Ismailia.

 Violence broke out in Egypt after a court announced guilty verdicts and death sentences over twenty people accused of involvement in last year's Port Said Soccer Riot in which 74 people were killed. There has been general unrest in Egypt for some time now due to dissatisfaction with the pace of government reform and the fear that a new dictatorship is emerging in the wake of the revolution. So far however, the canal operations appear relatively unaffected for through traffic, with only minor disruptions for traffic stopping in the canal's port facilities.   

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