At least 51 people have been killed in violence outside the headquarters of the Republican Guard in Cairo, according to the head of Egypt’s emergency services.Mohamed Sultan said a further 435 people were wounded in the attack, which the military said began when “a terrorist group” tried to storm the building.
The military said supporters of former president Mohamed Morsi tried to enter the Egyptian army premises, where he is being held, but the Muslim Brotherhood claim their supporters were fired upon and “massacred” while praying outside the building.
The military added that two of its officers were killed in the dawn clashes at the army base. The claims from both sides have not been independently verified.
At a news conference held in Cairo, Egypt’s military said it is operating on behalf of all the country’s citizens.
But Murad Ali, of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, said the shooting broke out while the Islamists had been staging a sit-in outside the barracks.
Some witnesses, including Brotherhood supporters at the scene, said the armed forces fired only warning shots and tear gas, and that “thugs” in civilian clothes approached from the side before carrying out the deadly shooting.
“The Republican Guard fired tear gas, but the thugs came from the side. We were the target,” said Mahmud al Shilli, a Muslim Brotherhood protester.
“I saw with my own eyes the people who they shot at,” another protester said, adding that several people had been injured.
Speaking to Sky’s Sam Kiley, one witness said Morsi supporters were attacked from the side and that the army fired the first shots.
“They fired tear gas and live bullets, we saw several people drop dead in the street. The attack came from the other side.
“(The protesters) were not doing any harm. They were just making some prayers and singing songs; many of them are from outside Cairo.
“I saw two guys drop on the floor, I don’t know if they were dead or not. There were live bullets because we have learnt to know the sound of live bullets as opposed to pellets.”
On Friday at the same spot, four Islamists were shot dead by soldiers.
Egypt’s ultra-conservative Islamist Nour party said it had withdrawn from negotiations to form a new interim government “in response to the massacre outside the Republican Guard headquarters”.
The country’s interim administration expressed “deep regret” for those killed. A released statement said the deaths were the result of an attempt by protesters to storm the Republican Guard headquarters.
The transitional administration also said it had formed a judicial committee to investigate the events. The statement called on protesters not to approach any military or “other vital installations”.
The armed forces overthrew President Morsi last Wednesday, backed by massive street demonstrations. Muslim Brotherhood supporters have been staging daily protests ever since.
Britain called for movement toward free and fair elections and agreement on a democratic constitution, and called on Egyptian authorities to carry out an investigation into the events that led to the deaths.
“There is an urgent need for calm and restraint,” said Foreign Secretary William Hague.
The European Union condemned the killings and said it was keeping its billions of Euros in aid pledged to the country “under constant review”.
“We are doing all that we can through talking to everyone on the ground to make sure everyone understands the need for peace to be maintained,” Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said at a routine press briefing.
– yahoo News
