Armed guards fire at pro-Morsi protesters, army denies involvement
Troops have fired bullets into the crowd of pro-Morsi demonstrators marching on the Republican Guard Headquarters located on the edge of Cairo's Nasr City. 'At least' three have been reported dead, amid army denials.
The shooting happened as the Islamist crowd gathered on Salah
Salem, marching towards the barracks where the deposed President
is being held. Three have been reported dead, according to AFP,
amid eyewitness accounts of several causalities.
NBC later reported that the figure stood at 4.
RT @RichardEngel: Medics tell us 4 killed from #Morsi supporters in clashes in Nasr City #Egypt. Injuries i saw appear to be from shotguns
— NBC Nightly News (@nbcnightlynews) July 5, 2013
Supporters rallying for the reinstatement of Morsi were wounded
by gunfire as they approached, according to Reuters. One witness
informed the agency that he saw several people taken down by
shotgun pellets, suffering from injuries.
An AFP Cairo correspondent is fleeing the scene, with one BBC
journalist sustaining an injury.
Leaving. Not safe at all. Sorry
— Haitham Tabei (@Haithamtabei) July 5, 2013
BBC reporter @BowenBBC hit in the head with birdshot. He's ok. pic.twitter.com/2ihAmOvpDL
— Sharif Kouddous (@sharifkouddous) July 5, 2013
As the demonstrators had approached, a small collective of men
placed a poster of Morsi atop the barbed wire barrier closing off
the military cordon. Protesters reportedly waved shoes at police
– a traditionally insulting gesture – prior to the onslaught.
“We are receiving reports that some of the protesters fired
back at Egyptian police,” said RT’s Paula Slier, based in
Cairo.
Egypt's security sources are denying that any people were killed
following the clashes, announcing on state radio that there have
been no deaths in the barrage of bullets.
An army spokesperson said that only blank rounds and teargas were
used against the protesters, according to Reuters. It is unclear
whether security forces were present at the scene who did not
belong to the army. A media spokesperson for the Muslim
Brotherhood, Gehad El-Haddad, said that any shootings had
been at the hands of the neighboring military police.
Shootings at Republican Guards HQ was not by the guards but by neighboring Military Police. Not known if under panic or by order. #Egypt
— Gehad El-Haddad (@gelhaddad) July 5, 2013
Thousands of Morsi supporters have been gathering across
several locations in Cairo in response to Egyptian President
Mohamed Morsi’s ousting by the on Wednesday following
anti-government protests.
The groups have been assembling in response to a call by the
alliance of Islamist parties – which included Morsi’s Muslim
Brotherhood, for peaceful protests to condemn the ousting.
“There certainly is a feeling that history is repeating itself
– you need to remember that it was just two years ago that the
former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was overthrown. What
people here on the streets are saying is we’re witnessing another
overthrow, and the point is being made is that this was a
democratically elected president,” said Slier.
In Cairo, supporters took to the streets at Cairo University and
Istiqama Mosque in nearby Giza Square, as well as in the Cairo
district of Heliopolis, not far from the Ittihadiya presidential
palace in addition to the Nasr City district action.
The capital hasn’t been the sole location of the demonstrations:
Unrest swept the northern cities of Alexandia and Beheira
following Friday afternoon prayers.
