Saudi King Abdullah states support for Egypt's military
| Riyadh
Saudi听King Abdullah called on Arabs on Friday to stand together against "attempts to destabilise"听, in a message of support for the military leadership and an attack on the听.
"The Kingdom of听, its people and government, stood and stands today with its brothers in听听against terrorism," he said in a message read out on听Saudi听television, in an apparent reference to continuing clashes between the听听and police.
"I call on the honest men of听听and the Arab and Muslim nations... to stand as one man and with one heart in the face of attempts to destabilise a country that is at the forefront of Arab and Muslim history," he added.
Hundreds were killed in听听this week when the security forces cleared protest camps set up by the听听to demonstrate against the military's ousting of President Mohamed Morsi last month.
听was a close ally of former President Hosni Mubarak 鈥� the veteran strongman brought down by a popular uprising in 2011 鈥� and it fears the spread of听听ideology to the Gulf monarchies. It pledged $5 billion in aid to听听after the Islamist Morsi was ousted.
King Abdullah's statement was听's first comment on the turmoil in听, a country it sees as an essential ally against Shi'ite Muslim Iran and anti-Western Islamist groups.
"All those who meddle in听's internal affairs are inflaming strife," he said, adding that the North African country faces "a conspiracy of plotters" trying to strike at its unity and stability.
Reporting by Angus McDowall in听, Sami Aboudi and Maha El Dahan in Dubai
