UPDATE 7: Death toll rises to 51 in Monday clashes between Egypt army and pro-Morsi protesters
Brotherhood says army opened fire on peaceful protesters, army says 'terrorist group' tried to storm Rep. Guard HQ; health ministry confirms 51 dead; one officer dead; Salafist Nour quits political process, NSF condemn killings
Ahram Online, Monday 8 Jul 2013
(Photo: Mai Shaheen)
The clashes left at least 51 civilians dead and 435 injured, the ministry of health said on Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian army said one officer died and 42 soldiers were injured, including eight in critical condition.
Prosecutors said they had found bullets, birdshot and Molotov cocktails in the vicinity of the clashes near the Republican Guard headquarters in Cairo's Nasr City.
A delegation of prosecutors visited Zenhom morgue where some of the dead were taken, while another interviewed victims in local hospitals.
Contradictory stories
Conflicting reports have emerged on how the clashes started on the fifth day of a Muslim Brotherhood spearheaded sit-in at the army facility to demand the return of deposed President Mohamed Morsi.
In an official statement published by Al-Ahram Arabic news website, the army said an "armed terrorist group" attempted to break into the Republican Guard headquarters in the early hours of Monday and "attacked security forces."
The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), however, issued an official statement saying "peaceful protesters were performing the Fajjr (dawn) prayers" when the army "fired teargas and gunshots at them without any consideration for the sanctity of prayers or life."
"This is also a violation against people's right to peaceful protest," it added.
Large numbers of women and young people sought shelter in a nearby mosque, the Brotherhood statement said, but the security forces "besieged the mosque and arrested anyone who came out of it."
"This has never happened before in the history of the Egyptian army," the FJP statement added.
"Perhaps there are still some wise men in the army who can put a stop to this behavior which is abnormal to the Egyptian army."
The army, however, said it had arrested at least 200 people who had "large quantities of firearms, ammunition and Molotov cocktails."
It also said that it had reopened Salah Salem Road which had been blocked by pro-Morsi protesters.
At a press conference later in the day, military spokesman Ahmed Aly said that pro-Morsi protesters, who have been gathering outside the Republican Guard headquarters for days, used live ammunition and bird shots against security personnel.
He added that at the time of the attack, another group was shooting from atop a building on Al-Tayaran street, where the military facility is located.
"A colleague is in Maadi hospital undergoing a four-hour surgery; he was shot with live ammunition to the head, which caused his skull to fracture," said Aly, who stressed the officer's injury proves that there was firing from building rooftops.
The spokesman also criticised footage circulating on satellite channels of Islamist protesters holding bullet casings and claiming they were fired by the army.
Aly stated that the ammunitions were fake, adding that it isn't possible that the bullets were fired by security forces given that once a bullet is shot, the casing falls next to the shooter.
He also denied pro-Morsi protester's claims that the military killed any children.
"Religious groups spread pictures showing children [killed]...how could children have been involved in that hour of the night," said Aly, who added that the pictures used were of Syrian children taken in March 2011.
President Morsi was deposed by Egypt's Armed Forces on Wednesday following nationwide protests calling for his ouster. Judge Adly Mansour, the head of the High Constitutional Court, was sworn in as the country's interim president on Thursday.
Morsi's removal sparked anger among his supporters, mainly Islamists, spearheaded by the Muslim Brotherhood.
The National Alliance for Supporting Legitimacy, a pro-Morsi group formed to back his right to complete his term of office, continues its sit-in at Rabaa Al-Adawiya Mosque in Cairo’s Nasr City district.
Other pro-Morsi groups have been protesting elsewhere, most notable at Nahdet Misr Square in Giza.
Political reactions and fallout
Shortly after the deadly clashes, Strong Egypt Party leader Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh, a critic of former President Morsi, called on interim president Adly Mansour to step down.
Abul-Fotouh, who resigned from the Muslim Brotherhood shortly after the 2011 uprising, told Al Jazeera that the incident was "a horrible crime against humanity and all Egyptians."
Also on Monday, the Salafist Nour Party, which had initially backed the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, announced that it "will withdraw from the political process" in response to the incident.
"We wanted to avoid bloodshed, but now blood has been spilled. So now we want to announce that we will end all negotiations with the new authorities," Nour added.
Meanwhile, Constitution Party leader Mohamed ElBaradei has called for an independent investigation into clashes at the Republican Guard headquarters that left at least 42 dead on Monday morning.
"Violence begets violence and should be strongly condemned," ElBaradei said via Twitter. "Independent investigation a must. Peaceful transition is only way."
Egypt's largest opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front (NSF), has expressed its "deep sorrow" over the death of dozens of people outside the Republican Guard barracks.
In a statement it issued on Monday afternoon, the NSF condemned "all acts of violence," including assaults on military barracks and army officers.
Al-Azhar, Egypt's 1000-year-old seat of Islamic learning, has condemned the "painful incident," which it says will portend a dark time of strife.
Egypt's Rebel campaign, the main force behind calls for the 30 June protests culminating in Morsi's ouster last Wednesday, condemned what it perceived as vengeful attempts by political Islamists against the army.
Mohab Doss, a group's spokesman, claimed the incident was a "reaction" by the army to "intimidation" by Islamist groups.
However, Doss added "the whole truth of what really happened should be uncovered through an independent investigation."
White House says will not immediately cut off aid to Egypt
US government will not make an immediate decision about whether or not to label Egypt's ousting of Mohamed Morsi a coup
Reuters, Monday 8 Jul 2013
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the United States government will take the time it needs to determine whether or not to label the Egyptian military's overthrow of the government as a coup, which would determine whether aid would continue.
"We do not believe it is in our interest to make a precipitous decision or determination now," Carney told reporters at a briefing.
Muslim Brotherhood calls for more protests |
Rhetoric following deadly violence intensifies as interim leadership adopts timetable for parliamentary elections.
Last Modified: 08 Jul 2013 22:44
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Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has called for nationwide protests to take place a day after a deadly shooting at the site of a sit-in by its supporters in Cairo, which left at least 51 dead and hundreds injured. The statement called on protesters not to approach any military or "other vital installations". The call comes as interim president Adly Mansour adopted a timetable for parliamentary elections by 2014, after which a date will be announced for a presidential ballot. The country will have five months to amend the current draft constitution suspended on Mohamed Morsi's ouster last week, ratify it in a referendum, and then hold parliamentary elections, according the text of the decree published online. 'Monday's Massacre'
Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim El-Beltagy, a Brotherhood MP, described the shootings during dawn prayers after police had stormed the site, as a "massacre".
The Egyptian health ministry said that 435 people were injured in the attack. A doctor told Al Jazeera that "the majority of injured had gunshot wounds to the head". Gehad Haddad, a spokesman for Muslim Brotherhood, said that security forces fired at protesters who demanded the reinstatement of ousted President Mohamed Morsiduring a sit-in near the Republican Guard headquarters in Cairo. “We have people hit in the head, we have bullets that exploded as they entered the body, cluttering organs and body parts” said Haddad. However, the military, which has set up checkpoints around Nasr City, said a "terrorist group" was responsible, adding that two officer had also been killed. In a press conference held in Cairo on Monday, Hany Abdel Latif, Egypt's interior ministry spokesman, said that "the Egyptian police is the force of the people. They are operating for all the Egyptian people, with all their affiliations." "The Egyptian security forces are working to safeguard the freedom of the Egyptian people following the January 2011 revolution," said Abdel Latif, adding that the police and security apparatus will not protect any particular regime, not "the former, the existing, or the upcoming". "The Egyptian police is out of the political equation. It can not be part of any political process in any way, shape or form," said Abdel Latif. Speaking at the same press conference, military spokesman Ahmed Ali blamed the violence on protesters who attacked the Republican Guard headquarters and defended the actions of the security forces, saying that the acted in self-defence against armed men attacking them from various locations, including rooftops. The military also released footage of what it described as an assault by Morsi supporters on the Republican Guard building in Cairo. The Muslim Brotherhood's Haddad dismissed the footage as a "total fabrication" and "frivolous Hollywood storytelling". Calls for an 'uprising' Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has called for an "uprising" in the country and asked the "international community to stop the "massacres" in the aftermath of last week's military coup. The Freedom and Justice Party, the religious group's political arm, demanded "an uprising by the great people of Egypt against those trying to steal their revolution with tanks”. The party, which had the highest number of seats at the parliament before the coup of last week, urged "the international community and international groups and all the free people of the world to intervene to stop further massacres [...] and prevent a new Syria in the Arab world." Dozens have died and more than 1,000 people have been injured in street clashes between supporters and opponents of Morsi in the aftermath of the military coupon Wednesday. Also on Monday, Egypt closed down the Cairo headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood, saying weapons were found inside it. The latest violence further raised political tensions, even as the country's interim leadership struggled to find a consensus on who should be the prime minister. The Salafist Nour Party announced it was suspending its participation from talks over new government in protest against Monday's fatal shootings. |
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
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