- 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
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
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
Unrest: At the biggest camp in northeast Cairo, security forces fired tear gas as police helicopters circled above and army vehicles were stationed nearby
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.
More...
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.
Breaking in: A bulldozer is seen in television reports breaking down a barricade into one of the protest camps
Attack: Egyptian security forces throw tear gas towards supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi at a sit-in in Cairo
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
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
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.
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
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.
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
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
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Send Emails to wanabidii@googlegroups.com
Kujiondoa Tuma Email kwenda
wanabidii+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com Utapata Email ya kudhibitisha ukishatuma
Disclaimer:
Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Wanabidii" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to wanabidii+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
0 Comments