Egyptian former militants try to broker peace between military and Muslim Brotherhood

Two Egyptian former militant groups are offering an initiative to halt the country's political violence, in which supporters of the ousted Islamist president will stop street protests if the military-backed government stops its crackdown on them.

The initiative led by the Gamaa Islamiya and Islamic Jihad movements, which waged an insurgency in the 1990s, aims to bring dialogue between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood, the party of toppled President Mohamed Morsi.

Mr Morsi’s allies had insisted that he be restored to power before talks, but Islamic Jihad leader Mohammed Abu Samra said negotiations had no “red lines”.

AP