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Egypt crisis: 'Scores killed' at Cairo protest | Egypt crisis: 'Scores killed' at Cairo protest |
(about 1 hour later) | |
More than 100 people have been killed and 1,500 injured at a protest held by supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo, doctors say. | |
However the health ministry has put the death toll lower, at 38. | |
The army ousted Mr Morsi on 3 July. He has been formally accused of murder, relating to a 2011 jail outbreak, and of links to the militant group Hamas. | |
Both pro- and anti-Morsi demonstrators held huge protests overnight in the capital. | |
The anti-Morsi camp occupied Cairo's Tahrir Square in support of the army, after its chief, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, had urged people to demonstrate to provide a mandate for its intervention. | |
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Morsi supporters continued their sit-in protest at the mosque in the Nasr City area. | Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Morsi supporters continued their sit-in protest at the mosque in the Nasr City area. |
On Saturday, Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim vowed to end the sit-in, saying local residents had complained about the encampment. | On Saturday, Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim vowed to end the sit-in, saying local residents had complained about the encampment. |
He said the protest would be "brought to an end soon, and in a legal manner" with an order from the prosecutor, although this has yet to happen. | |
The BBC's Jim Muir in Cairo says the latest violence is the most serious since the army's intervention to remove President Morsi, but this does not appear to have been a planned campaign to clear the area around the mosque. | The BBC's Jim Muir in Cairo says the latest violence is the most serious since the army's intervention to remove President Morsi, but this does not appear to have been a planned campaign to clear the area around the mosque. |
'Shooting to kill' | |
It appears clashes began after some of the Morsi supporters tried to block a main road in the area, and security forces responded. | |
The state news agency Mena quotes a security official as saying they had been trying to stop fighting between rival sides, and that eight security personnel had been injured. | |
The official added that live fire had not been used, only tear gas. | |
But our correspondent says medics at the hospital believed about 70% of the casualties were caused by live fire - with many of the victims hit in the chest or head by snipers firing from rooftops. | |
Gehad el-Haddad, a spokesman for Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement, told Reuters news agency: "They are not shooting to wound, they are shooting to kill." | |
A senior Brotherhood politician, Saad el-Hosseini, told the agency that this was an attempt by security forces to clear the mosque area. | A senior Brotherhood politician, Saad el-Hosseini, told the agency that this was an attempt by security forces to clear the mosque area. |
"I have been trying to make the youth withdraw for five hours. I can't. They are saying they have paid with their blood and they do not want to retreat," he said. | "I have been trying to make the youth withdraw for five hours. I can't. They are saying they have paid with their blood and they do not want to retreat," he said. |
Our correspondent says Morsi supporters are furious about the role the military is taking, and in particular the head of the army, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whom they say is killing Egyptians. | |
Egypt's pro-Muslim Brotherhood TV station, Ahrar 25, quoted the coalition that supports Mr Morsi - the National Coalition for Supporting Legitimacy - as saying it held Gen Sisi responsible for the deaths at the mosque protest. | Egypt's pro-Muslim Brotherhood TV station, Ahrar 25, quoted the coalition that supports Mr Morsi - the National Coalition for Supporting Legitimacy - as saying it held Gen Sisi responsible for the deaths at the mosque protest. |
There has also been violence in Egypt's second city of Alexandria, where at least 10 people have been killed in clashes between rival factions. | There has also been violence in Egypt's second city of Alexandria, where at least 10 people have been killed in clashes between rival factions. |
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she "deeply deplored" the latest deaths in Egypt. | European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she "deeply deplored" the latest deaths in Egypt. |
Her spokesman called "on all actors to refrain from violence and to respect the principles of peaceful protest". | |
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "Now is the time for dialogue, not confrontation. It is the responsibility of leaders on all sides to take steps to reduce tensions." | UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "Now is the time for dialogue, not confrontation. It is the responsibility of leaders on all sides to take steps to reduce tensions." |
Morsi accused | Morsi accused |
Mr Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, has been formally remanded in custody at an undisclosed location for an initial 15-day period, according to a judicial order on Friday. | |
The order was the first official statement on Mr Morsi's legal status since he was overthrown. | |
He has now been formally accused of the "premeditated murder of some prisoners, officers and soldiers" when he and several Muslim Brotherhood leaders were freed during a breakout at a Cairo prison in January 2011. | |
He is alleged to have plotted attacks on jails in the uprising that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak. | He is alleged to have plotted attacks on jails in the uprising that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak. |
Mr Morsi is also accused of conspiring with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip and has strong links with the Muslim Brotherhood. | Mr Morsi is also accused of conspiring with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip and has strong links with the Muslim Brotherhood. |
Two human rights activists visited Mr Morsi's place of detention on Friday, although he reportedly refused to meet them, instead sending his chief of presidential staff Refaa el-Tahtawy - who is also held at the location. | |
Mr Tahtawy told the visitors they were being treated well but complained that they were unable to meet relatives. | Mr Tahtawy told the visitors they were being treated well but complained that they were unable to meet relatives. |
On Saturday, the interior minister Ibrahim said that Mr Morsi would be transferred to Torah Prison, where Mubarak is being held. | On Saturday, the interior minister Ibrahim said that Mr Morsi would be transferred to Torah Prison, where Mubarak is being held. |
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