The death toll in Egypt’s overnight clashes that erupted Friday and continued until the early hours of Saturday over ousted Islamist-oriented President Mohamed Morsi rose to 75, according to the Health Ministry.
“The death toll of the clashes rose to 74, including nine in Alexandria and 65 near Rabia al-Adawiya Square in the capital Cairo,” state-run MENA news agency quoted a Health Ministry official as saying, noting at least 748 others were injured.
Earlier on Saturday, one was killed in clashes between Morsi’s loyalists and opponents in Fayoum governorate southwest of Cairo.
However, medical reports from the field hospital at Rabia al- Adawiya Square, where Morsi’s supporters have been staging an open- ended sit-in since June 28, said at least 200 of the supporters were killed and over 4,500 injured in clashes with security men
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On Friday, millions of Egyptians in Cairo and other governorates rallied in support of chief of the Armed Forces and Defense Minister Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to show the popular approval of the security crackdown on extremism and terrorism.
In contrast, throngs of Morsi’s supporters held various rallies in the country, demanding the return of the deposed president and labelling his overthrow “a military coup against legitimacy.”
Egypt’s Interior Ministry said Friday that protests went on peacefully in Cairo and Alexandria until Morsi’s loyalists, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) group, “sought to spoil these events.”
“Seeking to create a crisis in Cairo, the MB organized a march from Rabia al-Adawiya Square to 6th of October Bridge and attempted to impede traffic on the vital bridge,” said Interior Ministry spokesman General Hani Abdel-Latif.
He said they burned tires until they clashed with residents of nearby Mansheyet Nasser neighborhood, and the security men interfered to prevent the closure of the bridge and cease the clashes.
He reiterated that the police did not use live bullets to disperse the fighting sides. “No other weapons were used in these confrontations except for tear gas bombs.”
However, the MB and other Islamist affiliates hold the security forces responsible for the tragedy.
Xinhua
