Pro-Mursi camp a 'war zone' as Egypt police break up Cairo protest
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Pro-Mursi camp a 'war zone' as Egypt police break up Cairo protest
An unknown number of people have been killed in Cairo in violence triggered when security forces began clearing two protest camps set up by supporters of ousted President Mohamed Mursi.
Members of the Muslim Brotherhood group, Egypt's pro-Mursi faction, have talked of a "massacre" on the streets. They claim hundreds of people have been killed, with different figures being quoted by different sources. Some estimates for the number of dead and injured run into the thousands, but none has been confirmed.
Egypt's authorities put the number much lower, in single figures. A journalist working for news agency AFP said he had counted 43 dead bodies.
Egypt's interior ministry said two members of the security forces were killed by gunfire as they moved to break up the pro-Mursi protests, describing them as 'martyrs'.
Euronews' correspondent Mohammed Shaikhibrahim described the scene in Rabaa al-Adawiya square as a "war zone":
"It was very difficult for us to head towards the square because of intense gunfire. We couldn't identify where it came from but there is certainly firing from both sides between the police and the people in Rabaa al-Adawiya square. There are also several fires in several buildings around the square because of the gunfire," he said.
Clashes in Cairo 14/08/2013Anadolu agency
The police operation to clear the camps at Nahda Square and Rabaa al-Adawiya began at around 7:00 am local time. According to the Interior Ministry, security forces used tear gas rather than live ammunition as part of what it called "necessary measures" to disperse the protesters. It added that a safe exit path had been established for most demonstrators, but that "those wanted by the prosecution" were being stopped and held.
Egyptian security forces arrested senior Muslim Brotherhood politician Mohamed El-Beltagi on Wednesday, security officials said.
He was arrested near the Rabaa al-Adawiya protest camp in
Cairo after security forces raided the area, the sources said.
Earlier, several Muslim Brotherhood leaders were reported to have been arrested, although no names were given. The Ministry insisted the intention was "not to shed any Egyptian blood".
There have also been reports that Muslim Brotherhood supporters set fire to Coptic Christian churches in Sohag, south of Cairo. Egyptian Copts, who make up between 6% and 10% of the country's population, have warned that Mursi supporters are targeting them in revenge for supporting the military-led removal of the president on July 3.
Outside of Cairo, clashes were also reported in the cities of Minya, Alexandria, Suez and Assiut.
The protest camps were set up after the democratically-elected President Mursi was removed from power by the army six weeks ago. At least 250 people have been killed in violence between police and Islamists and secularists from Egypt's pro- and anti-Mursi factions since.
View Egypt - Cairo protests cleared in a larger map
Reacting to Wednesday's events, the EU has urged restraint. Michael Mann, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said: "The reports of deaths and injuries are extremely worrying. We reiterate that violence won't lead to any solution and we urge the Egyptian authorities to proceed with utmost restraint."
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called on the UN Security Council and Arab League to take immediate steps to stop a "massacre" in Egypt, saying international silence had paved the way for the Egyptian authorities' violent crackdown.
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