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| Egyptian Forces Move to Clear Out Pro-Morsi Sit-Ins in Cairo | Egyptian Forces Move to Clear Out Pro-Morsi Sit-Ins in Cairo |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| CAIRO — The Egyptian authorities moved on Wednesday to clear two camps in Cairo occupied by supporters of the ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, with armored vehicles, bulldozers and helicopters supporting security forces who were firing tear gas at the protesters, according to witnesses and television reports. | |
| Some witnesses spoke of gunfire, and there were unconfirmed reports of fatalities. | |
| The thousands of protesters at one camp had built a line of sandbags and walls to shield the area, and witnesses said an army bulldozer had moved in to dismantle it, witnesses said. | The thousands of protesters at one camp had built a line of sandbags and walls to shield the area, and witnesses said an army bulldozer had moved in to dismantle it, witnesses said. |
| The coordinated action against the pro-Morsi supporters, which had been expected for days, began around 7 a.m. local time. The protesters are seeking the reinstatement of Mr. Morsi, who became Egypt’s first democratically elected president in 2012 and was deposed by the military six weeks ago. In removing Mr. Morsi, the military also suspended the Constitution and installed an interim government presided over by a senior jurist. | |
| Mr. Morsi is being held at an undisclosed location. The military authorities have taken steps toward the criminal prosecution of Mr. Morsi on charges relating to his activities during the revolution that ousted his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak. | |
| While Egyptians broadly consider Mr. Mubarak’s autocracy to have been fundamentally illegitimate, Mr. Morsi is now under investigation for his own escape from political imprisonment and his work in the Islamist political opposition that helped to topple Mr. Mubarak in 2011. | While Egyptians broadly consider Mr. Mubarak’s autocracy to have been fundamentally illegitimate, Mr. Morsi is now under investigation for his own escape from political imprisonment and his work in the Islamist political opposition that helped to topple Mr. Mubarak in 2011. |
| His detention showed the depth of the gulf in Egyptian society between an Islamist movement, long sustained by the Muslim Brotherhood, and secular forces. | |
| As the security forces moved in on Wednesday, the Muslim Brotherhood office in London called the operation a “massacre” and said 30 people had been killed in the action. Protest groups in Cairo said 25 people had been killed, and Egypt’s state news agency reported that two members of the security forces had been shot and killed, but the Egyptian health ministry said there had been no deaths. | |
| Images on Al Jazeera television showed a car ablaze and protesters being treated for injuries. Protesters’ tents appeared to have been razed, and a pillar of black smoke rose above palm trees in one of the areas. The footage showed what appeared to be a gunman firing from a rooftop, but the shooter’s identity was not immediately clear. | |
| Black-uniformed police wearing gas masks and helmets led away protesters, the footage showed. | |
| An Associated Press television video journalist at the larger of the camps said he heard women screaming as a cloud of white smoke hung over the site in eastern Cairo. | |
David D. Kirkpatrick reported from Cairo and Alan Cowell from London | David D. Kirkpatrick reported from Cairo and Alan Cowell from London |