Saturday, August 17, 2013

Egypt : Muslim Brotherhood Day of Rage Turns Deadly Police Use Live Ammo Leaving 91 People Dead

Egypt: scores killed in 'day of rage'

Ian Black and Patrick Kingsley in Cairo
The Guardian, Friday 16 August 2013 18.26 EDT

Morsi supporters carry a wounded man during clashes with security forces in Cairo, Egypt

Supporters of Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Morsi carry a wounded man during clashes with security forces in Cairo. Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP

New violence erupted in central Cairo and across Egypt on Friday on a "day of rage" called by the Muslim Brotherhood to protest against the removal of President Mohamed Morsi and the killings of hundreds of his supporters by the military-backed government.
By nightfall, at least 20 and as many as 45 people had been reported shot dead in fierce street fighting in the centre of the capital, where machine gun fire was heard as a military helicopter flew overhead. Security officials said the death toll rose to at least 60 people killed across the country: 52 civilians and eight police officers. The latest death toll also included eight people confirmed killed in Damietta, four in Ismailia, and 13 elsewhere in the country.
TV cameras caught unidentified gunmen in civilian clothes firing automatic rifles on the May 15 bridge that crosses Zamalek in the heart of Cairo, where many foreigners and wealthy Egyptians live. People jumped off the bridge to escape the shooting. Uniformed police were nowhere to be seen. Firing also broke out outside a luxury hotel on the banks of the Nile near Tahrir Square.
On Friday night , the Brotherhood called on its supporters to continue daily protests across the country, but it urged its supporters to protest peacefully. "The struggle to overthrow this illegitimate regime is an obligation," it said in a statement.
The interior ministry had warned that security forces had been authorised to fire live ammunition at anyone targeting police and state institutions.
The Guardian saw dozens of bodies lying on the bloodstained floor of Cairo's al-Fath mosque on Ramses Square, which had been turned into a field hospital. Medical volunteers were overwhelmed by the scale of the blood-letting.
Gehad al-Haddad, a Brotherhood spokesman, denounced what he called "military coup criminals" after the group said 45 people had been killed in Ramses Square and urged supporters to withdraw to avoid further casualties.
On another day of high drama and now routine bloodshed, it was often hard for observers to keep up with the sheer pace of events. "It's impossible to follow up on everything that is taking place," tweeted commentator Bassem Sabry. "It is happening too fast, and everywhere."
Amid rising international concern, the French president, François Hollande, and German chancellor, Angela Merkel, called for a meeting of EU foreign ministers to co-ordinate a response. The EU tried but failed to mediate between the Egyptian government and the Islamist movement to secure a peaceful end to the two mass protest sit-ins that were broken up in Cairo on Wednesday, leaving at least 580 dead.
The Foreign Office (FCO) said it remained "deeply concerned" about the situation, and deplored the latest loss of life. "The UK continues to call for an end to violence and for a return to peaceful dialogue," a spokesman said.
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Egypt police vow to use live ammunition to defend state buildings

worldnewspaper2013
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78RBuZUMv4Q&w=420&h=315]

Published on Aug 16, 2013

Government claims actions are in spirit of 2011 revolution, as pro- and anti-Morsi marches planned after midday prayers
Egypt is braced for more violence on Friday, with both pro- and anti-Morsi supporters planning to march through cities in several provinces after midday prayers -- and the interior ministry ominously vowing to use live ammunition to defend themselves and state buildings.
Morsi supporters, centred around the ex-president's Muslim Brotherhood, are furious at the army and police-led massacre of at least 235 Islamists on Wednesday. But the army -- who toppled Morsi on 3 July following days of mass protests -- still rides a huge wave of nationalism, with widespread support among Egyptians who believe the Brotherhood and their allies are foreign-backed terrorists bent on destroying the country.
Egypt's government continued their defiant response to international criticism of Wednesday's massacre, with the office of the interim president -- Adly Mansour, a judge seen as a frontman for Egypt's real power, army chief Abdel Fatah al-Sisi -- responding defensively to Thursday's criticism from US president Barack Obama.
"Egypt appreciates the faithful positions of the world's nations, but absolutely confirms its full sovereignty," said the presidency in a statement, before underscoring that its actions were in the spirit of the 2011 revolution. Critics argue that the emergence of Egypt's new military-backed regime, and a corresponding return to favour of the country's once-hated police force, represents a return to the era of Hosni Mubarak, ousted in 2011.
Anti-Brotherhood sentiment has deepened further since Wednesday, after several reports of revenge attacks on policemen and Christians across the country -- solidifying the image of Islamists as terrorists. While Morsi's fall had broadbased backing, some Morsi supporters have scapegoated Egypt's Coptic Christian community -- which forms around 10% of the Egyptian population -- for his overthrow.
The Brotherhood issued countered the claims on Friday, denying responsibility despite the sectarian rhetoric of many of their members. A spokesman also said that the Iman mosque in north-east Cairo, which had been filled with the rotting corpses of people who died on Wednesday, was stormed by armed security officials during the new overnight curfew.
On Thursday night, in the street outside Cairo's Zeinhom morgue, five miles away, families of victims vowed to resist the curfew, refusing to leave the street until their relatives' bodies were accepted by the mortuary. "Curse the curfew," said Atef Fatih, whose brother Mohamed was shot dead yesterday. "We don't care about it. We will wait until they let the body inside."
Morgue officials struggled to cope with the number of bodies arriving at the premises. As a result, dozens of decaying bodies lay in coffins outside, relatives piling them with ice to stop the rot. Many claimed the police had refused to record their deaths as murder.
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Egyptians lay on the ground after being injured during clashes between security forces and supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi in Ramses Square, near the Al-Fath mosque, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Aug. 16, 2013. Gunfire rang out over a main Cairo overpass and police fired tear gas as clashes broke out after tens of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters took to the streets Friday across Egypt in defiance of a military-imposed state of emergency following the country's bloodshed earlier this week. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

AYA BATRAWY and TONY G. GABRIEL

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's capital descended into chaos Friday as vigilantes at neighborhood checkpoints battled Muslim Brotherhood-led protesters denouncing the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi and a deadly crackdown. The fiercest street clashes the city has seen in more than two years of turmoil left more than 60 people dead, including several policemen.
The sight of residents firing at one another marked a dark turn in the conflict, as civilians armed with pistols and assault rifle clashed with protesters taking part in what the Muslim Brotherhood called a "Day of Rage," ignited by anger at security forces for clearing two sit-in demonstrations Wednesday in clashes that killed more than 600 people.
Military helicopters circled overhead as residents furious with the Brotherhood protests pelted them with rocks and glass bottles. The two sides also fired on one another, sparking running street battles throughout the capital's residential neighborhoods.
There was little hope that an evening curfew would curb the violence as the Muslim Brotherhood called on supporters of the country's ousted Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, to stage daily protests.
Unlike in past clashes between protesters and police, residents and possibly police in civilian clothing battled those participating in the Brotherhood-led marches. There were few police in uniform to be seen as neighborhood watchdogs and pro-Morsi protesters fired at one another for hours on a bridge that crosses over Cairo's Zamalek district, an upscale island neighborhood where many foreigners and ambassadors reside.
Across the country, at least 56 civilians were killed, along with eight police officers, security officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
The violence erupted shortly after midday weekly prayers when tens of thousands of Brotherhood supporters answered the group's call to protest across Egypt in defiance of a military-imposed state of emergency following the bloodshed earlier this week.
Armed civilians manned impromptu checkpoints throughout the capital, banning Brotherhood marches from approaching and frisking anyone wanting to pass through. At one checkpoint, residents barred ambulances and cars carrying wounded from Cairo's main battleground, Ramses Square, from reaching a hospital.
The scenes highlighted how dangerous the divisions in Egypt have become. At least nine police stations were attacked Friday, officials said. Egypt's police force was rocked by the country's 2011 uprising that ousted longtime leader Hosni Mubarak from power and has not fully recovered since.
On Thursday, the Interior Ministry said it had authorized the use of deadly force against anyone targeting police and state institutions. But the threat appeared not to intimidate protesters.
The Brotherhood-led marches in Cairo headed toward Ramses Square, near the country's main train station. The area is near Tahrir Square, where the army put up barbed wire and deployed 30 tanks outside the Cairo Museum overlooking the square as a buffer between the protesters and a small anti-Brotherhood encampment in the square.
Several of the protesters were seen writing their names and relatives' phone numbers on one another's chests and undershirts in case they were to die in Friday's clashes.
Tawfik Dessouki, a Brotherhood supporter, said he was ready to fight for "democracy" and against the military's ouster of Morsi.
"I am here for the blood of the people who died. We didn't have a revolution to go back to a police and military state again and to be killed by the state," he said during a march headed toward Ramses Square.
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Violent clashes leave 91 dead and scores injured across Egypt as Muslim Brotherhood's 'march of anger' meets police and armed vigilantes firing live ammunition

Over 90 people dead across Egypt after Friday's protests
Morsi supporters and vigilante residents exchanged fire in Cairo
Thousands of Brotherhood supporters converged on Ramses Square
Attack on Cairo police station saw armed police fire at Morsi men
Gunfire heard over main Cairo overpass and police also fire tear gas
Egyptian army soldiers pictured around capital on armored vehicles
Official death toll from Wednesday's massacre in Cairo come to 638

By Michael Seamark
PUBLISHED: 17:03 EST, 15 August 2013 | UPDATED: 17:26 EST, 16 August 2013

At least 91 protesters and police were eared dead in Cairo last night as a ‘day of rage’ ended in inevitable bloodshed.
Supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi called for fresh demonstrations after more than 600 people were killed when attempts to clear protest camps earlier in the week turned into a massacre.
The fresh violence erupted when tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets after Friday prayers.
Scroll down for video

Fleeing for their lives: Friday's death toll has now reached 64 across Egypt, including eight police officers,

A member of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporter of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi shouts slogans after being injured during clashes in front of Azbkya police station

'Day of Rage': Hundreds have been reported injured and around have been 50 killed in today's protests in the Egyptian capital

Street battle: A Morsi supporter is taken from the crowd after he was injured during a protest outside Al-Fath Mosque in Ramses Square, in Cairo

Home-made weaponry: Morsi protesters throw rocks, lamps and what appears to be kitchen appliances, near the Four Seasons hotel in Garden City area of Cairo

Twitter user @sarahcarr posted this picture of people jumping off 6 October bridge near a police station after the large crown was trapped by armed police

Dozens died when security forces opened fire in Ramses Square, the focal point for demonstrators.
Some marchers heading towards the square jumped from road bridges to escape bullets and clouds of tear gas.
Another 25 demonstrators were killed outside the capital, according to reports, and security officials said 24 policemen had died in the fighting.
David Cameron was due to discuss the crisis by telephone last night with French President Francois Hollande amid urgent calls for EU foreign ministers to meet over the deteriorating situation.
It came as British tour operators came under increasing pressure to suspend holidays to Egypt as governments around Europe started warning their citizens to stay at home.