India urges Egypt to end violence

NEW DELHI - India was closely monitoring the current situation in Egypt and urged all political forces in that country to "exercise restraint" and enter into a "conciliatory dialogue" to end the violence after the military ousted democratically elected President Mohammed Morsi.

"India urges all political forces to abjure violence, exercise restraint, respect democratic principles and the rule of law and engage in a conciliatory dialogue to address the present situation, " the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

"We have about 3,000 Indian nationals in Egypt. In addition, we also have about 50 Indian companies in Egypt. Our embassy in Cairo is in active and regular contact with all sections of the Indian community with the objective of ensuring their welfare," the Ministry added.

Egypt plunged into a political crisis after the country's powerful military Wednesday ousted President Morsi of Muslim Brotherhood party following huge public demonstrations against him. Several top ranking party leaders have also been arrested by the military which has suspended the country's constitution.

Egyptian Supreme Court's head Adly Mansour was sworn in as the interim president Thursday amid protests by Morsi's supporters.