The Egyptian government on Wednesday imposed a curfew
that will last for the next month - or until further notice - in major
cities including Cairo and Alexandria.
A government statement said the curfew would run from 7 p.m. until 6
a.m. in 11 of Egypt's 27 provinces, including Suez. It followed
countrywide clashes between supporters of deposed President Mohamed
Morsi and the security forces.
"Whoever violates these orders will be punished with imprisonment," the
government said in a statement.
Earlier, the presidency ordered the armed forces to help the Interior
Ministry enforce security.
This as an Egyptian health ministry official said at least five people
were killed in the Egyptian city of Suez when supporters of deposed
President Morsi tried to storm a government building there.
Witnesses said an armored vehicle was set on fire during the attempt to
storm the provincial governor's office.
Egypt's health ministry also said that 149 people had been killed on Wednesday in a police raid on supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi at a Cairo protest camp and clashes nationwide.
"The dead are both from police and civilians. We are waiting to get more details," said the ministry's spokesman, Hamdi Abdel Karim, adding that 1,403 people had been wounded.
ElBaradei:
Egypt's interim vice president, Mohamed ElBaradei, resigned after the security forces violently broke up protest camps set up by supporters of the deposed president Morsi, saying in his resignation letter to Interim President Adly Mansour that "the beneficiaries of what happened today are those who call for violence, terrorism and the most extreme groups".
"There were peaceful ways to end this clash in society, there were proposed and acceptable solutions for beginnings that would take us to national consensus," he wrote.
Cameraman from Britain's Sky News killed:
A television cameraman working for Britain's Sky News was shot and killed in Cairo on Wednesday as violence flared in Egypt, Sky News said.
Cameraman Mick Deane, 61, had worked for the BSkyB owned news channel for 15 years, based in Washington and then Jerusalem. He is married with two sons.
Regions grappling with violence:
Ten people were killed in the
Egyptian city of Alexandria on Wednesday, a senior Health Ministry official
said, in clashes between supporters of Morsi and the police.
This as, fifteen Egyptians were killed in the Suez
Canal city of Ismailia when police clashed with supporters of Morsi near a
government building, medical sources said.
Most were killed by live ammunition, the rest
died after sustaining birdshot wounds, the sources said, adding it was not
clear how many of the victims were policemen and how many civilians.
Earlier, the Egyptian state news agency said 35
people were killed in the Egyptian province of Fayoum, south of Cairo,
following fighting at police stations between supporters of the deposed
President and the security forces.
Morsi supporters attacked at least two police
stations in Fayoum, setting fire to police vehicles outside one, witnesses
said.
Brotherhood official:
Security officials said that
Egyptian security forces arrested senior Muslim Brotherhood politician Mohamed
El-Beltagi. El-Beltagi was arrested near the Rabaa al-Adawiya protest camp in
Cairo after security forces raided the area, the sources said.
Attacks on pro-Morsi camps:
Egyptian security forces, backed by armored
cars and bulldozers, moved to clear two sit-in camps of supporters of the
country's ousted President Mohammed Morsi, showering protesters with tear gas
as the sound of gunfire rang out at both sites, state television and security
officials said.
In this context, state TV reported, quoting
the Interior Ministry that six members of the Egyptian security forces were
killed while breaking up Cairo's protest camps set up by supporters of
deposed president Mohamed Morsi.
The state-run Nile TV said a further 66
members of the security forces had been wounded. A security official said a
total of 200 protesters were arrested from both sites on Wednesday.
In another incident, four Egyptian policemen were shot dead by supporters of deposed President Morsi in a Western suburb of Cairo.
According to Agence France Presse,
Wednesday's attacks on the two pro-Morsi camps left more than 124 pro-Morsi
supporters killed.
Clashes also broke out elsewhere
in Cairo and other provinces across the country, with police stations,
government buildings and churches attacked or set ablaze.
Reactions:
Egypt's second largest Islamist
party called on Wednesday for an end to political violence it said threatened
to split society.
The Nour Party said it held the army-backed
government responsible for bloodshed which killed at least 149 people after security forces moved against supporters of Morsi.
In turn, the Egyptian government urged supporters of
Morsi to "listen to the voice of reason" and halt
violence, praising the security forces for showing self restraint while
breaking up their protest camps in Cairo.
In a statement, the government said it
would press ahead with implementing an army-backed political transition plan in
"a way that strives not to exclude any party from participation".
International positions:
The White House condemned a violent crackdown on protesters in Egypt on Wednesday and strongly opposed the declaration of a state of emergency there made by Egypt's military leaders.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest, briefing reporters as President Barack Obama was on an eight-day vacation, urged Egypt's military leaders to respect the basic human rights of the Egyptian people.
The state of Qatar also condemned the attack on Muslim Brotherhood supporters camping out in Cairo.
State news agency QNA quoted a foreign ministry official as urging Egyptian
authorities to "refrain from the security option in dealing with peaceful
protests, and to preserve the lives of Egyptians at protest sites."
In turn, Turkey's President Abdullah Gul
said an armed intervention by Egyptian security forces against protesters
supporting ousted president Mohamed Morsi was "completely
unacceptable".
For his part, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip
Erdogan called on the UN Security Council and Arab League to take immediate
steps to stop a "massacre" in Egypt, saying international silence had
paved the way for the Egyptian authorities' violent crackdown.
As well, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned violence used by Egyptian security forces to clear Cairo of protesters demanding the reinstatement of deposed President Morsi.
While the United Nations was still gathering information, it appeared that hundreds of people were killed or wounded in clashes between security forces and demonstrators, according to a statement by the secretary-general's spokesperson.
This as the European Union said that
reports that protesters had been killed in a security force crackdown were
"extremely worrying" and called for restraint from Egyptian
authorities.
REUTERS/AP
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