El-Beblawi undecided on whether to stay

Hazem el-Beblawi said he hasn't decided whether to remain Egypt's finance minister after the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces rejected his resignation. El-Beblawi told al-Masry al-Youm he would reconsider his resignation after the military rejected it but had not made a final decision. El-Beblawi, also deputy prime minister for economic affairs, resigned Tuesday after only three months in the position. In a resignation statement, he cited the security forces killing at least 25 people Sunday at a Coptic Christian protest where more than 300 also suffered injuries. El-Beblawi also pointed to differences in the government's cabinet. El-Beblawi deputy Momtaz al-Saeed said the minister resigned to protest the violence and his decision had nothing to do with budget matters. Meanwhile, Egypt's armed forces held secret services for soldiers killed in Sunday's violence, a military source told the Middle East News Agency. The source said the military funerals services were kept secret to avoid worsening tensions. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces did not say how many soldiers died because it didn't want to "demoralize its forces," the news agency said. State TV reported three soldiers had been fatally shot but al-Masry al-Youm said the secrecy about their identities and the death toll has led to doubts about whether there were military casualties. The army has been accused of using live ammunition and running over protesters with armored vehicles. But Ismail Etman, a senior member of the armed forces, told the BBC Tuesday forces stationed in the area where the protest occurred were not supplied with live ammunition, al-Masry al-Youm reported.