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15 August 2013
Security forces struggled to clamp a lid on Egypt on Thursday after hundreds of people were killed when authorities forcibly broke up camps of supporters protesting the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, in the worst nationwide bloodshed in decades.
Islamists clashed with police and troops who used bulldozers, teargas and live fire on Wednesday to clear out two Cairo sit-ins that had become a hub of Muslim Brotherhood resistance to the military after it deposed Morsi on July 3.
The clashes spread quickly, and a health ministry official said about 300 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured in fighting in Cairo, Alexandria and numerous towns and cities around the mostly Muslim nation of 84 million.
Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim said 21 police stations and seven churches had come under attack, while the Health Ministry reported dozens of people killed in al-Minya and Fayoum provinces south of Cairo, both Islamist strongholds.
In Cairo, dozens of Islamists hurled petrol bombs at the Finance Ministry, setting parts of the building ablaze, state-run newspaper al-Ahram reported.
The crackdown prompted 2005 Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohammed ElBaradei to resign as vice president, saying there had been peaceful alternatives.
"I cannot bear the responsibility of one single drop of blood before God, my conscience and citizens, especially with my belief that it could have been avoided," he wrote in a letter to interim President Adly Mansour.
Regretfully, those who benefit from what happened today are the advocates of violence and terrorism."
Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi insisted that authorities had no choice but to break up the sit-ins, where Morsi supporters had been camping since before June 30 demonstrations against the then-president. He spoke after authorities announced a state of emergency and a month-long nightly curfew from 7 pm-6 am (1700-0400 GMT) in Cairo and 12 other provinces.
Interior Minister Ibrahim vowed that the Islamists would not be allowed start any new encampments: "There is full coordination with the armed forces, and no more sit-ins will be allowed in any square in Egypt."
Security forces said they had cleared Morsi backers from the southern al-Nahda Square in front of the gates of Cairo University, despite armed resistance.
Recent efforts by the United States and European Union to broker a deal to end the crisis have failed, and international condemnation of Wednesday's violence was swift. US Secretary of State John Kerry condemned Wednesday's violence as "a serious blow towards reconciliation" but stressed that an inclusive political solution remained possible. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged peaceful reconciliation and regretted "that Egyptian authorities chose instead to use force to respond to the ongoing demonstrations."
Russia calls on Egypt's political forces to prevent further casualties
Russia calls on Egypt's political forces to prevent further casualties, says a Foreign Ministry comment posted on the official website of the department. According to the Russian Embassy in Cairo, there were no Russians among the victims of violence in Egypt.
In addition, Russia is suspending the work of the consulate in the Egyptian capital for two days "in order to avoid potential problems for visitors." At the same time, the consulate telephones, including the hotline, are operating in normal mode, the ministry reported.
Earlier, the interim president of Egypt Adly Mansour announced a month-long state of emergency in all Egyptian cities, and a curfew to last from 7:00 pm until 6:00 am.
Early on Wednesday security forces began a crackdown on loyalists of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, resorting to tear gas grenades in a bid to disperse the sit-ins in Cairo.
According to Egypt’s Health Ministry, about 250 people have been killed in the violence.
Egypt PM Hazem el-Beblawi addresses nation
Almost as soon as Kerry finished speaking Egypt prime minister Hazem el-Beblawi addressed the television cameras in Cairo. He insisted several times that today's crackdown on protesters was necessary. Security forces were "forced to intervene", el-Beblawi said, and he praised police for using "self-restraint".
He said that certain rules need to be followed to protect investors, and for this reason the interim government had to intervene.
"The decision to disperse sit-ins was not easy to take...
"We asked the Ministry of Interior to return security to the streets within legal and constitutional measures. We requested full self-restrain and I take the opportunity to thank the police.
"Human rights organisations were monitoring the full process and there were weapons inside sit-ins. We were surprised to see an attempt to spread chaos around the country.
"I promise you that the state of emergency will be as short as possible."
US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks on violence in Egypt
US Secretary of State John Kerry is making a statement in Washington, calling the situation in Egypt "deplorable" and appealing for calm. "The United States strongly condemns today's bloodshed and violence across Egypt," he said.
"Violence is simply not a solution in Egypt or anywhere else," Mr Kerry said. "Continued political polarisation will only further tear the Egyptian economy apart." Mr Kerry said the US supported the people of Egypt and said the interim government and military needed to offer inclusive steps forward."
He called on all parties to avoid violence in Egypt, saying: "There can only be political solution by bringing people together." Mr Kerry added he believed an inclusive way forward was still possible, but that Wednesday's events had greatly complicated the situation.
Egypt security in control of main protest camp, arrest senior Brotherhood politicians
Egyptian security forces were in "total control" of the main protest camp of supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday after a day of deadly clashes, a security official said.
"The situation in Rabaa al-Adawiya is now totally under control. There are no more clashes," said the official.
Egyptian police detained senior Muslim Brotherhood officials Mohamed El-Beltagi and Essam El-Erian on Wednesday, a security official said, after the police forcibly broke up Brotherhood protest camps in Cairo.
The official said Islamist preacher Safwat Hegazi had also been detained.
Vice president ElBaradei resigns amid clashes in Egypt, more than 149 killed
Egyptian vice president, Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, announced his resignation in a letter to the interim president on Wednesday.
The resignation comes after scores were killed in a crackdown by security forces on loyalists of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
Egypt's Health Ministry reported that 149 people have been killed and more than 1,400 wounded in clashes across the country.
Egypt declares month-long state of emergency
Egypt's government Wednesday declared a daily curfew in Cairo and 13 other provinces in a bid to contain nationwide violence following a crackdown on supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.
The curfew was to begin at 7:00 pm (1700 GMT), before sunset, and run until 6:00 am (0400 GMT), a government spokesman said in a statement read out on state television.
It applies to the provinces of Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Beni Sueif, Menya, Assiut, Sohag, Beheira, North Sinai, South Sinai and Suez, the statement said.
The government later added that Ismailiya, Fayoum and Qena would also be under curfew, for a total of 14 out of the country's 27 provinces.
The measure will last one month, the government said, after the presidency announced a month-long state of emergency in the country.
The government said anyone who defies the curfew will face prison.
Egypt imposes state of emergency: troops' crackdown on protesters leaves 95 killed and 874 injured
Egyptian troops staged a crackdown on protesters that turned deadly Wednesday in efforts to clear two antigovernment sit-ins in Cairo, a development that observers worry could plunge the already divided country further into uncontrollable violence. The Ministry of Health raised the toll to 95 killed and 874 injured in violence in Cairo and elsewhere as the president declared a state of emergency across the country, giving the armed forces responsibility for "taking all measures to protect public and private property and the lives of citizens," according to a statement read on state television.
The Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of ousted President Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, said the field hospitals the Brotherhood has set up in the two squares have recorded more than 300 deaths.
The number of deaths arising from an Egyptian army crackdown on protesters in an effort to clear two antigovernment sit-ins in Cairo on Wednesday is being widely contested.
Police carried an injured member of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporter of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in Raba'a al Adiwiya square after troops cleared two antigovernment sit-ins in Cairo on Wednesday.
The storming of Raba'a al Adiwiya and Nahda squares paralyzed Cairo, with major roads closed and tanks lining the streets as the government braced for a reaction from Muslim Brotherhood supporters. Brotherhood leaders had vowed to send their supporters to march on government buildings if the sit-ins were attacked.
Images from state television and provided by the Brotherhood's press office showed smoke filling the air, helicopters circling the sky, government snipers on roofs and scores of protesters lined up against cars as they were arrested by police. They also showed bloody bodies being taken into a Brotherhood field hospital set up in Raba'a. Images were accompanied by a bar reading, "The peaceful dispersal of the sit-ins."
According to government news agency MENA, 200 protesters were arrested at both camps for possessing weapons.
Security forces fired tear gas and live ammunition at unarmed protesters including women. One older woman who had been tear gassed screamed, "God help us! We are unarmed!"
Ambulances were unable to get through to Raba'a due to thick plumes of tear gas. The wounded were instead being brought to the ambulances on motorcycle.
"They're killing people! Go take photos!" one motorcyclists screamed while taking his finger and making a slitting gesture across his throat.
The Egyptian army blocked reporters from going to the scene, violating earlier promises the police made to invite the press and human rights activists to observe the clearing of the sit-ins, amid concerns of police brutality.
"Forces have exercised self restraint and professionalism in their actions, this is reflected in the low number of injuries. The government reiterates that it will stand firmly against the attempts of some elements to attack public buildings and vital institutions and police stations," a statement from the Egyptian government that was read on state television said. "The government is committed to moving forward with implementing the future road map in a way that does not marginalize any group."
Human rights groups have condemned the brute force Egyptian police have used when clearing demonstrations. Human Rights Watch said at least 130 protesters had died in standoffs with the police in the past month and called on state security forces to refrain from violence.
Egypt: Morsi supporters torch church
Supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi set fire to a church in central Egypt.
Supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi torched a church in central Egypt on Wednesday in a reprisal attack as police dispersed demonstrations in Cairo, MENA state news agency said.
The assailants threw firebombs at Mar Gergiss church in Sohag, a city with a large community of Coptic Christians who comprise up to 10 percent of Egypt's 84 million people, causing it to burn down, the agency said.
Blast goes off outside Cairo zoo
An explosion erupted Wednesday near the entrance to the Cairo zoo in Egypt, a local TV channel reports. It also says gunfire can be heard in the vicinity.
The zoo is located near Cairo's al-Nahda square where police have cracked down on pro-Morsi protest camps with bulldozers and tear gas.
Egyptian army opens fire on Morsi supporters in Cairo - witness
The Egyptian army opened fire on Wednesday on supporters of deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, who were trying to join a protest camp in Cairo which was attacked by security forces, a witness said.
The Reuters reporter said he saw about 20 people who had been shot in the legs by soldiers.
Morsi's supporters had been throwing stones and petrol bombs at Egyptian troops.
Egypt police arrest Muslim Brotherhood leaders
Egypt’s security forces on Wednesday arrested several leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, a police report says. No other details have been revealed so far.
A number of leaders of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood were arrested on Wednesday, an official said, after security forces began clearing a camp of Cairo protesters who were demanding the reinstatement of deposed President Mohamed Mursi.
"We have arrested a number of Brotherhood leaders but it's too early to announce their names," General Abdel Fattah Othman, a senior official in the Interior Ministry, told the privately-owned CBC TV channel.
Dozens killed as Cairo police level pro-Morsi camps
Security forces backed by bulldozers moved in Wednesday on two huge protest camps set up in Cairo by supporters of Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Morsi, launching a long-threatened crackdown that left dozens dead and injured.
The operation began shortly after dawn when security forces surrounded the sprawling Rabaa al-Adawiya camp in east Cairo and a similar one at Al-Nahda square, in the centre of the capital.
Witnesses said police rained canisters of tear gas down onto tents before entering Rabaa al-Adawiya, sparking pandemonium among the thousands of protesters who set up the camp soon after Morsi was ousted by the army on July 3.
Men in gas masks rushed to grab each canister and dunk them in containers of water, as the main stage near the mosque of the camp blared Islamic anthems and protesters chanted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest.)
Clashes quickly erupted between protesters and security forces on one side of the camp, as automatic fire could be heard. It was not immediately clear who was doing the shooting.
Television footage showed injured people being carried to a makeshift medical centre as well as police dragging away protesters, who have defied numerous ultimatums to end their demonstrations.
At least 250 dead in Cairo crackdown - Muslim Brotherhood
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said at least 250 people were killed and over 5,000 injured Wednesday in a police crackdown on two major protest camps held by supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.
"250+ confirmed deaths. Drs saying most critical patients will die from their bullet wounds. over 5000 wounded. biggest massacre sincecoup," Brotherhood spokesman Gehad al-Haddad said on Twitter.There was no independent confirmation of the Brotherhood toll.
Egypt: One protest camp 'totally under control' of security - police
Egypt's interior ministry said security forces have "total control" over the smaller of two protest camps in an operation Wednesday to clear away supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.
Al-Nahda Square was "totally under control" and "police forces have managed to remove most of the tents in the square," the ministry said.
A security official said that dozens of Morsi supporters had been arrested with the help of residents from the area.
Muslim Brotherhood claims over 100 dead in Cairo crackdown
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said at least 100 people were killed and over 2,000 injured Wednesday in a police crackdown on two major protest camps held by supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.
"100+ dead & 2000+ wounded," Brotherhood spokesman Gehad al-Haddad said on Twitter. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the tolls.
Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_08_15/About-300-dead-after-Egypt-forces-attack-protest-camps-5865/
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