From: Abdalah Hamis
– At the biggest camp in northeast Cairo, security forces fired tear gas
– Police helicopters circled above and army vehicles were stationed
nearby
– Muslim Brotherhood has claimed that 250 have been killed today
– The group also said that more than 5,000 have been injured so far
By JILL REILLY
As many as 100 people have been killed according to reports, as Egyptian
security forces, backed by armoured cars and bulldozers, began to clear two
sit-in camps by supporters of the country’s ousted President Mohammed
Morsi.
At the biggest camp in northeast Cairo, security forces fired tear gas as
police helicopters circled above and army vehicles were stationed nearby.
The state news agency said security forces had started implementing a
phased plan to disperse the protesters, which is almost certain to deepen
political turmoil in Egypt.
Scroll down for video
[image: Chaos: A tent burns at one of the two sites occupied by protestors
until armed forces moved them on this morning. At least 25 are said to have
been killed today]
Chaos: A tent burns at one of the two sites occupied by protestors until
armed forces moved them on this morning. At least 25 are said to have been
killed today
[image: Clashes:]
Clashes: Smoke rises during clashes between riot police and members and
supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, at Rabba el Adwia Square in Cairo.
Egyptian security forces have started clearing out Cairo protest camps
which have been demanding the reinstatement of Morsi
[image: Unrest:]
Unrest: At the biggest camp in northeast Cairo, security forces fired tear
gas as police helicopters circled above and army vehicles were stationed
nearby
[image: Movement:]
Movement: An image grab taken from Egyptian state TV shows police forces
moving in to disperse a huge protest camp set up outside the Rabaa
al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo
While initial reports have suggested that around 25 protestors have been
killed in one of the protest camps and security forces have confirmed the
deaths of two of their personnel, the Muslim Brotherhood is claiming that
at least 250 are dead.
The movement’s spokesman Gehad El-Haddad took to Twitter to make the claim,
adding that more than 5,000 people have been injured.
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But those estimates are unconfirmed.
The simultaneous actions by the Egyptian forces – at the pro-Morsi
encampment in Nasr City and at the site outside the main campus of Cairo
University in Giza – began at around 7am local time.
Regional television networks have been broadcasting images of collapsed
tents and burning tires at both sites, with ambulances on standby.
Footage showed dozens of protesters being arrested and led away by
black-clad policemen.
State television showed footage of some dozen protesters, mostly bearded,
cuffed and sitting on a sidewalk under guard outside the Cairo University
campus.
[image: Breaking in: A bulldozer is seen in television reports breaking
down a barricade into one of the protest camps]
Breaking in: A bulldozer is seen in television reports breaking down a
barricade into one of the protest camps
[image: Attack: Egyptian security forces throw tear gas towards supporters
of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi at a sit-in in Cairo]
Attack: Egyptian security forces throw tear gas towards supporters of
ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi at a sit-in in Cairo
[image: Action: Protestors can be seen behind a barricade in the background
as tear gas is fired at protestors earlier today]
Action: Protestors can be seen behind a barricade in the background as tear
gas is fired at protestors earlier today
The smaller of the two camps was cleared of protesters by late morning,
with most of them taking refuge in the nearby Orman botanical gardens and
inside the sprawling campus of Cairo University.
Security forces remained on the fringes of the other camp in the eastern
Nasr City district after it showered the encampment with tear gas.
Television footage from there showed thousands of protesters congregating
at the heart of the site, with many wearing gas masks or covering their
faces to fend off the tear gas.
A security official, who spoke anonymously, said that as many as 200
protestors had been arrested.
At the Nasr City site, ambulances are also seen at the scene, and there are
reports of some protesters being arrested and led away by the troops.
The pan-Arab Al-Arabiya TV is showing images of collapsed tents and burning
tires at the Nasr City protest site.
Ambulances are also seen at the scene, as well as some protesters being
arrested and led away by the troops.
VIDEO: Violent clashes as Egyptian security forces clear Cairo protest
camps
Violent clashes as Egyptian security forces clear Cairo protest…
[image: Clearing out:]
Clearing out: Supporters of Egypt’s ousted President Mohammed Morsi stand
behind sand barriers recently set up where supporters of Morsi have
installed a camp. At least 15 people have been killed as Egyptian security
forces, backed by armoured cars and bulldozers, began to clear two sit-in
camps
[image: Operation: Supporters of Egypt’s ousted Pre]
Operation: Supporters of Egypt’s ousted President Mohammed Morsi rest in a
tent outside Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque, where protesters have installed a
camp and held daily rallies at Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt
Officials confirmed that a number of leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood
group had been arrested in the move to clear out the protest camps.
None of those arrested have been named.
‘We have arrested a number of Brotherhood leaders but it’s too early to
announce their names,’ General Abdel Fattah Othman, a senior official in
the Interior Ministry, told the privately-owned CBC TV channel.
[image: Plans]
Plans: The state news agency said security forces had started implementing
a phased plan to disperse the protesters, which is almost certain to deepen
political turmoil in Egypt
[image: Camp]
Camp: A supporter of Egypt’s ousted President Mohammed Morsi enters Nahda
Square, which is fortified with multiple walls of bricks, tires, metal
barricades and sandbags, where protesters have installed their camp near
Cairo University
The Anti-Coup Alliance, an umbrella of pro-Morsi supporters, said in a
statement that there are dozens of dead and injured so far in Wednesday’s
attacks.
Eyewitness Ahshur Abid said 15 people were killed as the clearing operation
started.
He said he saw their bodies at a field hospital at one of the camps.
There was no immediate official conformation of the deaths.
While supporters say that security forces used live ammunition, officials
denied the claims and said that they only fired tear gas on the camps.
A ministry statement also warned that forces would deal firmly with
protesters acting ‘irresponsibly,’ suggesting that it would respond in kind
if its men are fired upon.
It said it would guarantee safe passage to those who want to leave the Nasr
City site but would arrest those wanted for questioning by prosecutors.
[image: Blame:]
Tension: More than 300 people have already died in political violence since
the army overthrew Morsi on July 3, including dozens of his supporters
killed by security forces in two separate earlier incidents
Casualties treated at field hospital in Cairo (Graphic Content)
An Associated Press television video journalist at the scene of the larger
of the two camps said he could hear the screams of women as a cloud of
white smoke hung over the site in the eastern Cairo suburb.
He said an army bulldozer was removing mounds of sand bags and brick walls
built by the protesters as a defence line.
Army troops, however, were not taking part in the operation
More than 300 people have already died in political violence since the army
overthrew Morsi on July 3, including dozens of his supporters killed by
security forces in two separate earlier incidents.
Morsi became Egypt’s first freely elected leader in June 2012 but failed to
tackle deep economic malaise and worried many Egyptians with his apparent
efforts to tighten Islamist rule.
TWO YEARS OF TENSION: FROM MUBAREK TO MORSI AND BEYOND
Jan. 25-Feb. 11, 2011 – Egyptians stage nationwide demonstrations against
the rule of autocrat Hosni Mubarak, who led the country for nearly three
decades.
The 18-day ‘revolution,’ launched by secular and leftist youth, draws in a
wide spectrum, including the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists.
Hundreds of protesters are killed as Mubarak and his allies try to crush
the uprising.
Feb. 11 2011 – Mubarak steps down and turns power over to the military. Two
days later, the body of top generals, the Supreme Council of the Armed
Forces, dissolves parliament and suspends the constitution, meeting two key
demands of protesters.
June 16-17 2011 – Egyptians vote in the presidential runoff between Morsi
and Shafiq. The generals issue a ‘constitutional declaration’ giving
themselves sweeping authorities and limiting the powers of the next
president. Morsi emerges as the victor, with 51.7 percent of the vote.
June 30 2011 – Morsi takes his formal oath of office before the Supreme
Constitutional Court, a day after reading a symbolic oath in Cairo’s Tahrir
Square, birthplace of the revolution.
Aug. 12 2011 – In a bold move, Morsi orders the retirement of the top
Mubarak-era leadership of the military and cancels the military’s last
constitutional decree, taking back the powers that the generals gave
themselves. The move was seen as way to curb the military’s role in
political affairs but it also gave Morsi the power to legislate in the
absence of parliament.
Nov. 22 2011 – Morsi unilaterally decrees greater authorities for himself,
giving his decisions immunity from judicial review and barring the courts
from dissolving the constituent assembly and the upper house of parliament.
The move came just ahead of court decisions that could have dissolved the
bodies. The move sparks days of protests, with clashes between Morsi’s
supporters and opponents. At one point, some 200,000 people rally in Tahrir
Square, with some of the first chants for Morsi to ‘leave.’
Dec. 4 2011 – More than 100,000 protesters march on the presidential
palace, demanding the cancellation of the referendum and the writing of a
new constitution. The next day, Islamists attack a peaceful anti-Morsi
sit-in outside the palace, sparking all-out street battles that leave at
least 10 dead. Days later, Morsi rescinds his initial decrees, but
maintains the date of the referendum.
Jan. 25, 2013 – Hundreds of thousands hold protests in Tahrir Square and
nationwide against Morsi on the 2-year anniversary of the start of the
revolt against Mubarak, and clashes erupt in many places.
Jan. 26 – Residents of the city of Port Said stage protests, angered by a
court ruling convicting and sentencing to death a group of local soccer
fans for a 2012 stadium riot. Police crack down hard in Port Said, killing
more than 40 protesters, and in outrage the city and others nearby go into
near revolt. Much of the anger is focused at Morsi, who praised the police
for their crackdown.
Feb.-March – Protests continue in Port Said and other cities for weeks,
with dozens more dying in clashes, and some police units around the country
go on strike. Brotherhood youth and their opponents fight in the streets
outside the group’s main Cairo headquarters.
June 30 — Millions of Egyptians take to the streets in Cairo and other
cities calling for Morsi to step down in a massive display of anger and
frustration with the Islamist leader. The demonstrations are largely
peaceful, although 16 people, half of them in clashes outside the Muslim
Brotherhood’s Cairo headquarters, are killed in protest-related violence
nationwide. Organisers vow to keep up the protests until Morsi resigns.
July 1 – Demonstrations continue and Egypt’s military issues an ultimatum
for the two sides to come to a resolution within 48 hours or it will impose
its own solution.
July 3 – Egyptian media reports that President Morsi will either be sacked
or forced to stand down as the army’s deadline for a resolution approaches. The
head of the Egyptian army, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi later declares on
national TV that Morsi has been ousted from power, prompting a wave of
celebrations across the country.
July 4 – Judge in Egypt’s supreme court, Adly Mansour, sworn in as interim
president in Cairo.
July 5 – ‘Friday of Rage’ protests spark violent clashes that last into the
night, leaving a 36 dead and more than 1,000 people injured
July 7 – More than 50 are killed and 435 injured in clashes between
supporters of ousted President Morsi and armed forces at the Republican
Guard building in Cairo. Armed forces claim that they opened fire because a
‘terrorist group’ had attempted to storm the building.
July 9 – Interim head of state Adli Mansour sets a timetable of next year
for elections in the country leaving Egypt facing months of protests.
July 12 – Thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters gather in Cairo and
say they will occupy a square in the city until Morsi is reinstated as
president.
July 15 – At least seven killed in clashes between protestors and police in
Cairo. A further 261 are injured when locals and Muslim Brotherhood
supporters clash.
July 26 – More than 120 people were reportedly killed in another night of
violence in Cairo, according to the Muslim Brotherhood. Security forces
were said to have opened fire on a round the clock vigil for President
Morsi shortly before pre-dawn prayers.
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2392614/Egypt-Cairo-protests-15-people-killed-security-forces-start-clearing-Cairo-protest-camps.html#ixzz2bvr6UJUZ
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