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Egypt crisis: Clashes erupt at pro-Morsi protest | Egypt crisis: Clashes erupt at pro-Morsi protest |
(35 minutes later) | |
Violent clashes have broken out in the Egyptian capital Cairo where defiant supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi are staging a sit-in protest. | |
Running battles are taking place around the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville at the scene. | |
He says there is blood on the streets and it is clear a number of people have died. Medics report at least 16 deaths. | |
Early on Saturday, Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim vowed to end the sit-in at the mosque. | |
He said local residents had complained about the encampment and that the protest would be "brought to an end soon and in a legal manner". | |
Overnight, huge rallies were held by supporters and opponents of Mr Morsi. | Overnight, huge rallies were held by supporters and opponents of Mr Morsi. |
Many thousands occupied Cairo's Tahrir Square in support of the army, which removed Mr Morsi from office earlier this month. | Many thousands occupied Cairo's Tahrir Square in support of the army, which removed Mr Morsi from office earlier this month. |
Army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had urged people to take to the streets to give the military a mandate for its intervention. | Army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had urged people to take to the streets to give the military a mandate for its intervention. |
Our correspondent says automatic gunfire can still be heard and the area around the mosque is being hit by barrages of tear gas. | |
Security forces, joined by anti-Morsi demonstrators, appear to be forcing protesters closer to the mosque and ambulances are taking people to nearby hospitals, he adds. | |
Most wounds appear to be from buckshot and CS gas canisters, he says, but there are reports of live fire. | |
A doctor in a field hospital at the scene told the Associated Press new agency that at least 16 Morsi supporters had been killed. | A doctor in a field hospital at the scene told the Associated Press new agency that at least 16 Morsi supporters had been killed. |
However, the Muslim Brotherhood - which backs Mr Morsi - told Reuters that 31 people had died. The numbers could not be confirmed. | However, the Muslim Brotherhood - which backs Mr Morsi - told Reuters that 31 people had died. The numbers could not be confirmed. |
Brotherhood spokesman Gehad el-Haddad also told Reuters: "They are not shooting to wound, they are shooting to kill." | |
There has also been violence in Egypt's second city of Alexandria, where at least five people were killed late on Friday in clashes between rival factions, state media reported. | |
Morsi charged | Morsi charged |
Since Mr Morsi, the country's first democratically elected president, was ousted on 3 July, dozens of people have died in violent protests. | |
Mr Morsi has now been formally accused of conspiring with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip and has strong links with Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood. | |
He is alleged to have plotted attacks on jails in the 2011 uprising that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak. | |
Mr Morsi and several Muslim Brotherhood leaders were freed during a breakout at a Cairo prison in January 2011. | Mr Morsi and several Muslim Brotherhood leaders were freed during a breakout at a Cairo prison in January 2011. |
Mr Morsi is to be questioned for an initial 15-day period, a judicial order said. | |
The order issued on Friday was the first official statement on Mr Morsi's legal status since he was overthrown and placed in custody at an undisclosed location. |