Post-coup violence in Egypt: LIVE UPDATES

Scores are dead as Egypt descends into chaos following a brutal crackdown on massive sit-ins in support of deposed President Mohamed Morsi. Morsi supporters have been rallying since July 3 demanding his reinstatement.

Friday, August 30

20:12 GMT: At least six are dead and around 50 injured in Egypt as thousands of supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi marched in cities across the country, calling for Morsi’s return to office. Security sources said around 20 were arrested, and that police fired teargas at protesters in Cairo's Mohandiseen district. The marches spurred the military-backed government to warn Egyptians of legal consequences should anyone violate a mandatory 1700 GMT curfew.

Thursday, August 22

13:05 GMT: Ahmed Aref, spokesperson for the Muslim Brotherhood, has been arrested by the security forces, according to Egyptian state television.

Tuesday, August 20 

19:48 GMT: The ten-member technical committee, entrusted with amending Egypt's 2012 constitution, handed the revised copy over to interim president Adly Mansour, Ahram Online reported.

It was reported that the committee decided to retain the article, which states that Islam is the religion of the state, Arabic is its official language, and Islamic Sharia is the main source of legislation. However, it actually decided to revoke the article concerning various interpretations of Islamic Sharia - reportedly upon the request of most political and public institutions.

The new draft constitution is expected to be announced on Wednesday.

18:15 GMT: A White House spokesman said that Obama will meet on Tuesday with his national security team to discuss Egypt and the aid issues surrounding the country.

13:00 GMT: Hundreds of pro-Morsi protesters are being interrogated and arrest warrants were issued for Muslim Brotherhood leaders and the preacher at the Fath mosque, Hafez Ghazal, on charges of incitement to storm the Azbakiya police station during the riot in Ramses Square on Saturday.

12:20 GMT: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood officially announced that the deputy to the movement's leader, Mahmoud Ezzat, will temporarily serve as the organization's spiritual leader.

12:10 GMT: An Egyptian court will on Wednesday review a petition for the release of deposed President Hosni Mubarak filed by his lawyer, judicial sources said.

The court will convene at the Cairo prison where Mubarak is being held, according to the sources. If the court upholds the petition, Mubarak is expected to be released as there remains no further legal grounds for his detention, said the ex-president’s lawyer Fareed el-Deeb. Though he is being retried on charges of ordering the killing of protesters in the 2011 uprising, he has served the maximum amount of pre-trial detention permitted in the case, judicial sources said.

00:20 GMT: Security forces in Egypt have arrested the head of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie, according to state media. Badie, who is usually described as the Brotherhood’s spiritual leader of “General Guide,” was held at an apartment in Nasr City in the northeast of Cairo, Reuters reported, citing Egyptian media. Nasr City was the location of a six-week sit-in protest held by supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi, which was violently cleared out by the country’s security forces last Wednesday. Both Badie and his deputy, Khairat el-Shater - who is already in custody - are appearing before a court later this month for their alleged role in the deaths of eight protesters who were demonstrating outside the Brotherhood’s Cairo headquarters in June.

Monday, August 19

21:30 GMT: An Al-Ahram journalist was shot dead at a military checkpoint a few hours after the state imposed curfew, which starts at 7 pm. Abdel-Raouf was driving with his colleague after a meeting with the governor of Beheira, a Nile Delta Province, the paid were returning home. A military checkpoint on the route refused to allow them to pass and started shooting, even though journalists and media personal are officially exempt from the curfew.

19:54 GMT:

Explosion in the vicinity of military intelligence in El-Arish. Ongoing clashes. #Sinai

— Mohamed Fadel Fahmy (@Repent11) August 19, 2013

18:01 GMT: Washington says that its review of military, security, and economic assistance to Egypt is “ongoing” and that adjustments will be made “as needed.” 

“We have not made a policy decision to put a blanket hold on the economic support fund,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, adding that the review also applied to military and security assistance.

NGO funding will not be affected regardless of whether the US imposes restrictions on aid, she said.

17:40 GMT: American Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has urged Egyptian military leaders to return to an “inclusive” approach to governing after hundreds of Morsi supporters were killed in clashes with security forces, AFP reported.

Hagel reiterated Washington’s appeal for dialogue amid the ongoing bloodshed in Egypt but acknowledged that US influence over the events is “limited.”

15:39 GMT: Egypt's public prosecutor has ordered the continued detention of ousted President Mohamed Morsi for 15 days in a new investigation into allegations that he participated in "violent acts," the MENA state news agency reported. The new case centers on protests that took place in front of the presidential palace in December 2012.

15:21 GMT: Human rights group Amnesty International has denounced the "utter carnage" in Egypt, after clashes between security forces and Morsi supporters killed more than 800 people and injured thousands.

"A clear violation of international law and standards has been carried out in Egypt in what can be described as no less than utter carnage," Salil Shetty, the group’s Secretary General, said in a statement. "The interim government has already stained its human rights record – first by breaking its promises to use non-lethal weapons to disperse pro-Morsi sit-ins and allow for the safe exit of wounded, and then by justifying their actions despite the tragic loss of lives."

Shetty also blamed the international community's for its "weak and ineffective" response to the violence.

"The response of the international community has been weak and ineffective, even as everyone leaps to condemn the horrific loss of life," he said.

Amnesty International also urged the interim authorities to "take immediate action to prevent further loss of life, while bringing security and public order back to the streets."

The head of Amnesty International in Germany, Selman Caliskan, said that only a "comprehensive investigation can ensure justice for the victims and accountability for the perpetrators."

14:00 GMT: Saudi Arabia said Monday that Arab and Islamic countries will step in to help Egypt if Western nations cut aid packages to Cairo over a crackdown on Islamist protesters, AFP reported. Addressing the states that “have announced they are cutting their aid to Egypt, or threatening to do that,” Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said “Arab and Muslim nations are rich… and will not hesitate to help Egypt.”

10:44 GMT: Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has warned its citizens against traveling to Egypt, where violent clashes between law enforcement agencies and Islamists have claimed hundreds of lives. Those Turks living in Egypt should take “all necessary personal security measures and stay away from demonstrations and crowds,” the ministry said. Turkish citizens are advised to phone the Consulate General in Alexandria or country's 24-hour Consulate Call Center in case of emergency.

09:23 GMT: Egyptian authorities have closed the Rafah crossing following the Sinai attack, AFP reported.

06:38 GMT: Twenty-four Egyptian policemen have been killed in a suspected militant ambush in northern Sinai, AP reported Egyptian authorities as saying. The officers were traveling in two buses when unknown armed men attacked them, officials cited security forces as saying. The assault took place near the town of Rafah, near the border with Gaza.

03:17 GMT: Egypt’s interior ministry has banned informal security committees set up by Egyptians amid the country's ongoing clashes, Ahram Online reported. The committees were created to protect neighbourhoods from unrest. The decision is reportedly aimed at curbing illegal acts which were committed by committee members last week.

01:05 GMT: The Anti-Coup Alliance issued a statement claiming that it had "obtained evidence of the assassination of at least 38 anti-coup detainees in a truck transferring them to Abu Zaabal prison."

The group said it “puts full criminal responsibility” on the leaders of the July 3 military coup, including Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Kamel, and demanded an international investigation into the “horrific crime.”

Sunday, August 18

23:07 GMT: Sarah Marusek, an activist who rallied against US policy in Egypt in front of the Egyptian Mission to the United Nations in New York, explained to RT why she doubts that US military aid to Egypt will be canceled.

“If the United States government cancels the aid, then US companies are going to be the ones who are not going to get paid. In our economy, that is struggling, that is not going to be dignified by the American people,” Marusek said.

22:19 GMT: Amr Darrag from Egypt’s Freedom and Justice Party told RT that “the Muslim Brotherhood has always been protecting churches.” Citing a priest in Minya - where many Christian churches were attacked this week - Darrag said that the “attacks were orchestrated by thugs who cooperate with security forces.” He added that allegations of Islamist groups attacking the places of worship are unfounded. “These allegations are being propounded by the current [regime], in order to justify the aggression.” 

Furthermore, Darrag told RT that mass media often misinterprets the entire picture of the conflict, placing pro-Morsi protesters in one camp and government forces in the other. They are composed of “several fractions of Egyptians,” the politician said, adding that some are not organized or united under any banner. “They are all protesting and marching to regain democracy back.”

21:04 GMT: Egypt’s Tamarod "Rebel" Campaign, which was largely responsible for organizing anti-Morsi protests, launched a petition on its official website on Saturday, demanding the cancellation of a peace treaty with Israel and the cancellation of US aid.

"After the unacceptable American intervention in Egyptian affairs, and how the US supports terrorist groups in Egypt, I demand as an Egyptian citizen who signed this petition to hold a referendum on two matters. The first, to refuse US aid...in all its forms. The second, to cancel the peace agreement between Egypt and the Israeli entity and rewording security agreements in order to ensure the rights of the Egyptian state in securing its borders," the petition reads, as cited by Albawaba News.

20:32 GMT: Nigeria’s top Muslim body has urged a prompt international investigation on the crackdown by the Egyptian authorities against pro-Morsi protesters in which hundreds of civilians were killed this week.

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs released a statement asking the International Criminal Court to act, and called for an unconditional release of Mohamed Morsi.

“The NSCIA calls for cessation of hostilities; unconditional release of the elected President Morsi and all other political detainees; constitution of an independent electoral agency under the supervision of the United Nations” the statement said.

20:11 GMT: France and Saudi Arabia want to offer their help in mediating the crisis in Egypt, French President Francois Hollande said after a meeting with the Saudi foreign minister in Paris.

Hollande condemned the "unacceptable" level of violence in Egypt as he called for political dialogue.

"It is unacceptable that there is violence of this level in a great country like Egypt," he said. "If the freedom to protest must be respected, so must security." 

Hollande also stated that countries have a duty to stop the violence in order to pave the way for elections in Egypt, stressing that Arab nations, Europe, and France have a "shared responsibility" to get Egyptian political authorities on the right path towards elections.

Meanwhile, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told reporters that "We will not achieve anything through threats.”

17:17 GMT: Several marches of supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi kicked off on Sunday evening in Cairo districts, media reports stated. The number of people taking part was not immediately clear, but they were all said to be heading to the Constitutional Court.

16:36 GMT: Hundreds of Brotherhood supporters could be seen marching in Giza, located some 20 kilometers from Cairo. According to reports, the demonstrators are headed to the capital to join others who are already gathering in front of the Constitutional Court.

16:24 GMT: 79 people died and 549 were wounded in violence across Egypt on Saturday, the state news agency cited the Egyptian government as saying.

16:06 GMT: Several dozen Muslim Brotherhood leaders were arrested across Egypt on Sunday, according to Brotherhood sources cited by Ahram Online. The movement’s office in Alexandria said that state security forces and special forces stormed the homes of 34 members of the Brotherhood and its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP). It added that Medhat El-Haddad, the head of the group’s Alexandria office, was among the 34 people arrested. Eight Brotherhood leaders were also reportedly arrested in the governorate of Gharbiya.

The Brotherhood’s spokesperson in Alexandria, Anes El-Kady, condemned the raids, comparing them to the Mubarak era “dawn visits” by security forces to arrest opposition members.

“These arrests will not terrorize us. We will continue protesting peacefully,” El-Kady said.

15:17 GMT: Egyptian Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned that the military would not tolerate further violence, and called on the Muslim Brotherhood to join the political process, according to a statement posted on the Army’s Facebook page. Speaking at a gathering of Egypt’s top military commanders and police chiefs, Al-Sisi insisted that the Army had no intention to seize power, and that it was up to Egyptians “to give legitimacy for whoever they want.” Addressing the Brotherhood, he added that there was “room for everyone in Egypt.”

Sisi says won't accept "the destruction .. of the country, the terrorising of the people and sending a wrong image to the Western media"

— crispian balmer (@crispiandjb) August 18, 2013

14:27 GMT: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has canceled its Sunday rallies in Cairo due to security concerns, RT Arabic cited a source as saying. Brotherhood officials, quoted by Al Jazeera, said they were calling off their planned protest marches due to “the presence of army snipers on buildings along the routes.”

14:04 GMT: Egypt’s security forces have arrested 3,500 supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi since Wednesday, Ahram Online cited Muslim Brotherhood lawyer Mustafa El-Demeery as saying. El-Demeery said about 2,000 Morsi loyalists were arrested during the dispersal of the Rabaa Al-Adaweya and Al-Nahda sit-ins on Wednesday. Some 1,500 more were arrested during clashes between Morsi supporters, security forces and downtown Cairo residents in and around Ramses Square on Friday, the lawyer said. Prosecutors have ordered the continued detention of more than 400 Morsi loyalists arrested during the Ramses Square clashes, according to Ahram Online. The rest of the detained are reportedly being questioned.

13:40 GMT: Russia’s Federal Tourism Agency said Muslim Brotherhood rallies in the popular Egyptian resort city of Hurghada had not affected tourists’ safety. The police are guarding the tourist zones in the Red Sea coast city, while the local rallies have been peaceful and some distance away from the city’s hotels, a spokeswoman for the tourist agency told Interfax.

12:54 GMT: Egypt has increased security in Cairo ahead of planned rallies in support of deposed President Mohamed Morsi. Reports said that armored vehicles and troops were deployed early Sunday to the Supreme Constitutional Court building in southern Cairo, where a major pro-Morsi rally of the anti-coup alliance has been planned. The Muslim Brotherhood-led National Coalition to Support Legitimacy has announced that Sunday’s rallies across the country will mark the start of the so-called “Putschists’ Departure week.”

10:52 GMT: Sweden’s Electrolux, the world's second-biggest home appliances manufacturer, has announced a halt to its operations in Egypt until the security situation there improves. In 2011 Electrolux bought Egypt's biggest appliances maker Olympic Group, and company turnover in Egypt in 2012 reached $307 million. Electrolux employs a total of 7,000 people in Egypt.

08:50 GMT: The EU will review its relations with Egypt, according to a joint statement by President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso.

The leaders of the 28-member bloc have called for an immediate halt to violence in Egypt, for the resumption of political dialogue and a return to democratic rule. 

“While all should exert maximum restraint, we underline the particular responsibility of the interim authorities and of the army in bringing clashes to a halt. The violence and the killings of these last days cannot be justified nor condoned. Human rights must be respected and upheld. Political prisoners should be released,” the statement reads.

08:30 GMT: Egyptian prosecutors are investigating 250 Muslim Brotherhood supporters – one quarter of those arrested in the wake of Friday’s violent clashes – on charges of murder, attempted murder and terrorism, Reuters reported the state MENA news agency as saying.

08:00 GMT: The Muslim Brotherhood has urged its supporters to take part in several marches on Sunday, including one to the Cairo Supreme Constitutional Court, to protest the military’s violent crackdown this week, which has resulted in more than 700 deaths.

"Depature of the coup" week begins, #Morsi supporters will march on Constitutional Court& Roxy sq (near Prez palace) after afternoon prayers

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) August 18, 2013

02:02 GMT: Egypt’s Tahrir-ICN anarchist group has issued a statement condemning the “massacre” by security forces cracking down on the opposition.

“It was a pre-orchestrated act of state terrorism. It’s aim is to divide the people and push the Muslim Brotherhood to create more militia’s to revenge and protect themselves,” the statement read.

The group has also accused the government of seeking “to keep the military regime in an ongoing state of emergency.”

Saturday, August 17

23:34 GMT: The US Embassy in Cairo has announced that it will remain closed on Sunday for security reasons amid ongoing clashes in the Egyptian capital.

“The possibility of protests in [the] vicinity of the Embassy continues,” reads a statement on the embassy’s website.“Please do not travel to the Embassy unless you receive specific instructions from the Embassy to do so.”

22:50 GMT: At least 58 Christian properties have been attacked since Wednesday. Representatives of Christian churches compiled a list of affected properties, which was published by AsiaNews.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is “alarmed” by the violence in Egypt, and has condemned the "attacks on churches, hospitals, and other public facilities, which he finds unacceptable," according to a statement from his office.

The UN chief has called on all sides to prevent the loss of human lives and for “authority to use maximum restraint and shift immediately to de-escalation.”

22:28 GMT: Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) released a memo saying that it “noticed that some media coverage has steered away from objectivity and neutrality that are internationally common, according to a certain political agenda; a state of affairs that led to conveying a distorted image that is very much far from the facts and media coverage.”

The statement accused the Muslim Brotherhood of “violent and terror acts” aimed at the “killing of innocent people and setting churches and public and private property on fire along with storming police stations and blocking roads.”

22:20 GMT: Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy has accused Turkey of adopting a hostile stance toward Egypt, Al Jazeera reports. The minister also said that authorities are working to provide an accurate picture of the events on the ground, as foreign media tends to exaggerate them. He warned against bowing to foreign pressure, stating that such vital decision-making is ultimately in Egypt’s hands.

22:14 GMT: The official spokesperson for the Muslim Brotherhood, Ahmed Aref, has denied that he justified assaults on Egypt's churches, Egypt Independent reported.

On his Facebook page, Aref emphasized his rejection of violence towards Egypt's Christian community.

“I have long standing ties with different church priests in Egypt and outside it. We condemn this sort of violence and do not accept it or employ it. We do not ignore it, let alone justify it. We know this is a security ploy - that is plain as day.”

21:57 GMT: During a phone call with his Egyptian counterpart, UK Foreign Minister William Hague urged an end to the bloodshed and condemned “all acts of violence,” the British Foreign Office said.

20:46 GMT: Anti-coup rallies are taking place in Cairo and in the suburbs of Helwan and Giza, as well as in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, Al Jazeera reports.

#Alexandria army tanks cutting off central district Sidi Gaber which witnessed some of the deadly clashes pic.twitter.com/wVNwrQKnTk

— AhmedMaher (@BBCAhmedMaher) August 17, 2013

20:38 GMT: Two Irish sisters were arrested by Egyptian security forces in Cairo's Al-Fath mosque, AFP reported.  They are the children of the imam of Ireland’s largest mosque and were on a visit to Egypt with other siblings when they took refuge inside the building on Friday. Omaima Halawa and her sister Fatima were detained once they left the mosque on Saturday. Meanwhile, dozens gathered outside the Egyptian embassy in Dublin, protesting against violent military crackdowns on protesters in Egypt.

20:23 GMT: Saudi Arabia is sending three fully equipped and staffed field hospitals to Egypt. King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz ordered the shipment in order to “support the brotherly Egyptian people, and to reduce the pressure on hospitals there,” according to SPA state news agency.

20:12 GMT: According to the state news agency, 250 Muslim Brotherhood protesters are under investigation for murder, attempted murder, and terrorism.

17:15 GMT: Germany's foreign minister and his Qatari counterpart also joined the chorus of voices denouncing violence in Egypt. "We are deeply distressed by the ongoing and brutal violence in Egypt," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told journalists on Saturday

16:40 GMT: Thousands in Turkey took to the streets on Saturday to protest the ‘massacre’ in Egypt. Some 4,000 protesters gathered at an Istanbul mosque chanting, “Down with [army chief Abdel Fattah] al-Sisi” and “Morsi in power!” according to an AFP photographer. Demonstrators asked the Muslim world to help the Egyptian people “who are being massacred.” In the central Turkish city of Konya, almost 10,000 turned up in solidarity with the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies, Dogan news agency reported.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the international response to increasing violence in Egypt on Friday as shameful because of how little action has been taken to date. “Let me say very clearly, the UN Security Council no longer has the right to look at itself in the mirror, it’s so ashamed, because it couldn't condemn what's happening in Egypt,” said Erdogan, adding that silence was tantamount to condoning massacres.

15:40 GMT: Egyptian banks, which have been closed since Wednesday due to violence on the streets, will reopen Sunday morning, the country’s Central Bank said in a statement.

15:27 GMT: The Egyptian government has pledged to fight against “terrorism and radicalism,” and to protect the people against “religious fascism,” presidential spokesman Mostafa Hegazy said at a press conference. Speaking to the reporters, the spokesman said a “war” has been declared against Egypt by “extremist forces,” and urged the supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi to “come back to [their] senses.” Dismissing all the forms of the protesters’ violence and damage to property as “terrorist” activities, Hegazy claimed that the Egyptians are now “more united than before.”

The spokesman stressed that the Egyptian government was committed to fully implement its roadmap, which includes drafting a new constitution.

“The constitution will be for all Egyptians, by all Egyptians,” Hegazy said.

He also expressed the government’s disappointment about the international media coverage of the situation in Egypt, saying that the stories of churches being burnt down and police officers being attacked and killed were “missing” from it.

Are we going to see a crackdown on foreign journalists? This presser suggests that might be their next plan

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) August 17, 2013

15:05 GMT: A blast went off at the Egyptian consulate in Benghazi, Libya, Reuters cited eyewitnesses as saying. The “small explosion” reportedly caused some damage to the building, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

14:40 GMT: Security forces have cleared Cairo’s Al-Fath mosque following the stand-off, Egyptian state TV reported. Many of the Muslim Brotherhood supporters who refused to leave the mosque earlier and barricaded themselves inside have been arrested, the report added.

14:07 GMT: The Egyptian Army posted a statement on its Facebook page, dismissing what it described as “lies and false claims” by Muslim Brotherhood supporters, broadcast by Al Jazeera. The army said it had been providing a safe exit corridor to people inside Cairo’s Al-Fath mosque, and said some media agencies had “deliberately falsified the facts.”

Earlier on Saturday, Al Jazeera cited witnesses speaking from Al-Fath mosque as saying they were “afraid” of leaving the mosque, because some “thugs” have been taking the outgoing people hostage, and that these attackers have been “coordinating with the army and the police forces.”

13:23 GMT:

Just heard @alastair_beach and Matt have been released. Thank god

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) August 17, 2013

13:15 GMT: Two Western journalists – Matt Bradley, of The Wall Street Journal, and Alastair Beach, of The Independent – have been taken into an army vehicle for their protection, after having been reportedly detained by the crowd. Another journalist at the scene, Alastair Beach, tweeted they were both safe, thanking the military and other journalists for their “timely intervention.”

Seeing @MattMcBradley put into Army APC in Ramses Square on Aljazeera English. #egyptpic.twitter.com/UANZil4HZM

— Cliff Cheney (@cliffcheney) August 17, 2013

12:10 GMT: A brother of Al-Qaeda’s worldwide leader, Ayman Al-Zawahri, has been arrested in Egypt, AP reported, citing a local security source. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Mohammed Zawahri was detained at a checkpoint in Giza, a town across the Nile from Cairo.

Mohammed Al-Zawahri is the leader of an ultraconservative Salafist group that operated openly in Egypt before July’s military coup, which ousted President Mohammed Morsi. The group was allied with Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood.

Egyptian authorities said earlier that Mohammed Al-Zawahri had commanded Islamist militants in Sinai Peninsula.

11:50 GMT: A gun battle erupted at Cairo’s Al-Fath mosque, where several hundred Morsi supporters remain barricaded since Friday. A gunman opened fire from the mosque’s minaret, with police shooting back at him. The exchanges of gunfire outside the mosque scared many of the people remaining inside, journalists in touch with the protesters reported. The identity of the lone gunman remains unknown.

11:44 GMT: The violent clashes between security forces and Morsi supporters on Friday left 173 people killed across Egypt, including 93 in central Cairo, the Health Ministry said. Countrywide, 1,330 people were injured, including 596 in the capital, the ministry said.

11:30 GMT: The Muslim Brotherhood may be banned in Egypt, a spokesman for the country’s interim Prime Minister Hazem Al Beblawi said. The proposition for a legal dissolution of the Islamist movement was tabled by the PM and is currently being studied by the provisional cabinet.

The Brotherhood was illegal in Egypt for decades, before the downfall of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 brought it to the frontline of the country’s politics. Earlier the military-backed interim government said it would return to Mubarak-era security levels.

10:50 GMT: Ammar Badie, 38, a son of senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie, was shot and killed Friday in Cairo’s Ramses Square, the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party said on its Facebook page. On Wednesday, Asmaa Beltagy, the 17-year-old daughter of another top Brotherhood official, Mohammed Beltagy, was killed in the clashes.

09:49 GMT:

People are coming out of the El-Fath mosque now, apparently doctors and nurses. Crowds clap. It's chaotic

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) August 17, 2013

09:40 GMT: The retrial of Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president who was ousted in a massive popular uprising in 2011, resumed Saturday. Mubarak, 85, was absent from court due to security concerns over the continuing violence in the country – the first court session he has missed so far. His two sons, Alaa and Gamal, and Mubarak's former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly, who are also standing trial, were also absent.

The judge adjourned proceedings until August 25.

Mubarak and Adly were convicted and sentenced to life in June last year for failing to stop the killings of protesters during the 2011 revolution. A retrial called in January after both prosecution and defense successfully appealed the verdict.

03:01 GMT: Security forces continue to clash with Muslim Brotherhood protesters in the city of el Arish in northern Sinai. Tires and barricades have been set on fire on one street as pro-Morsi supporters battle authorities, AP reported. It was earlier reported that six people have been killed and 17 others injured in the clashes.

02:42 GMT: Egyptian security forces have arrested over 1,000 Morsi supporters nationwide, the interior ministry said in a statement early Saturday.

"The number of Muslim Brotherhood elements arrested reached 1,004," the statement said. The majority of the arrests, 558, took place in Cairo, AFP reported.

01:01 GMT: An estimated 1,500 people trapped inside Al-Fath mosque in Cairo’s Ramses Square have asked for “a safe exit” at the end of the curfew which finishes at 7am local time.

Security forces besieged Al-Fath mosque at the end the "Friday of Anger" protests.  Security officials claimed that "armed elements" were "shooting security forces and police from inside the mosque," MENA reported. However, activists say the army was attacking them.  

The head of the Doctors’ Syndicate told Ahram Online that 1,500 protesters and 31 doctors have asked for a safety corridor, after earlier reports indicated that people inside the mosque were fearing for their lives. Around 70 people are believed to be injured inside the building.

“They demand a safe exit because they fear if they leave the mosque they will be arrested and humiliated. They want to go out in the presence of human rights representatives, media personnel, and members of the Doctors Syndicate to make sure this will not happen,” medic Ahmed Hussein said.

Earlier, AFP reported that soldiers offered to evacuate women but insisted on questioning men, which the protesters refused. "Thugs tried to storm the mosque but the men barricaded the doors," the agency quoted one of the people inside the mosque as saying.

00:12 GMT: Around 821 members of the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested by Egyptian security forces on Friday as riots took place across 18 governorates, KUNA reported, citing an interior ministry security source.

Some 22 automatic firearms as well as hundreds of rounds of ammunition were also seized.

Friday, August 16

23:13 GMT: Egypt’s Coptic Church issued a statement in support of the security forces and condemned the “groups of armed violence.”

“The Egyptian Coptic Church is following the unfortunate developments on the ground of our country Egypt and emphasizes its strong stance with the Egyptian police, armed forces, and other organizations of the Egyptian people in the face of groups of armed violence and black terrorism,” the church said in a statement.

23:05 GMT: According to reports, between 600 and 700 people are being barricaded inside Al-Fath mosque in the Ramses area, where security forces are trying to enter the building.

"They are threatening to burn the mosque. They are trying to enter the mosque,” a witness from inside the building told Al Jazeera. "Men inside the mosque are trying to keep the doors locked using bookshelves and other stuff," the witness added.

23:01 GMT: Amnesty International is calling on the international community to conduct “a full and impartial investigation” into the Egyptian government’s actions this week.  The organization says that based on witness testimonies, security forces allegedly used excessive force and broke promises to allow for safe passage of the wounded.

“Based on the initial testimonies and other evidence we’ve gathered, there seems to be little doubt the security forces have been acting with blatant disregard for human life, and full investigations that are both impartial and independent are urgently needed,” said Middle East and North Africa Programme Director Philip Luther.

22:51 GMT: The Taliban has issued a statement strongly condemning Wednesday’s violence in Egypt where authorities “dispersed crowds from two large bases with indiscriminate fire.” It also called for reinstatement of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

“This inhumane and unwarranted attack resulted in the martyrdom of around two thousand and six hundred peaceful protestors including women, children and the elderly,” the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan posted in a statement.

The Taliban called on the United Nations, the Islamic Conference, and religious scholars to intervene on the matter and asked for “the Egyptian military and government to stop spilling the blood of innocent women, children and elderly and it must pave the way for the return of constitutionally elected president to stop the situation from spiraling further out of control.”

22:00 GMT: The presidential office announced that it will hold an international press conference at the presidential palace on Saturday at 13:00 GMT, to explain the country’s situation to the world, Egypt Daily News reported.

21:36 GMT: According to the latest figures, at least 91 people have been killed in Egypt alone, Reuters reported. Cairo’s death toll stands at more than 50. Five people were killed in Fayoum, eight in Damietta, 16 in Alexandria, and four in Tanta, Ismailia, and Port Said.

Meanwhile, Muslim Brotherhood supporters have accused the Health Ministry of not disclosing up-to-date numbers regarding the death toll.

#Egypt MoHealth prevented by gov from announcing casualties figures today after fixing figures of yesterday & the day before.

— Gehad El-Haddad (@gelhaddad) August 16, 2013

21:20 GMT: The British Foreign Office has reissued a travel warning to British citizens. The statement advises against “all but essential travel to the rest of Egypt except for resorts on the Red Sea.”

The Foreign Office especially warns against travel to the “Governorate of North Sinai due to the significant increase in criminal activity and recent terrorist attacks on police and security forces that have resulted in deaths.”

21:04 GMT: Al Arabiya is reporting that 263 armed Muslim Brotherhood members have so far been arrested in Ramses Square, citing Egypt’s interior ministry.

21:02 GMT: Clashes between security forces and protesters in the Sinai Peninsula have left at least six people dead, including one policemen. Seventeen others were injured, according to medical sources cited by Reuters.  

Clashes in the city of Arish erupted when Morsi supporters stormed Rommana Police Station, Ahram Online reported. The army moved in to restore order.

Activists opened fire and hurled petrol bombs at the Civil Defense headquarters in Arish, prompting policemen to retaliate by returning fire.

In a separate incident, three rocket-propelled grenades were fired at the house of North Sinai's governor.

20:46 GMT: Al-Fath Mosque in Cairo's Ramses Square is reportedly still under gunfire attack. The Egyptian military says it will aim to disperse the protesters in the square, Al Jazeera reports.

Armored vehicles and security forces arrived earlier at the scene, which was the center of Friday's crackdown.

20:38 GMT: The office of the Red Crescent in Cairo has been set on fire by Muslim Brotherhood supporters, according to unconfirmed reports. 

PHOTO: Blood Bank , Red Crescent Societies and the store to Tools relief is burning building in #Ramses, #Egyptpic.twitter.com/Qik676MVtP

— Ahmad Talaat (@Ahmadtal3t) August 16, 2013

20:34 GMT: Egypt’s Third Army was deployed to disperse pro-Morsi activists in the Suez governorate, Ahram Online reported.

Warning shots were fired into the air, advising protesters in the main square and surrounding streets to leave before security forces and armored vehicles moved in.

The square has reportedly been reopened after protesters blocked traffic by burning tires and confronting authorities.

20:28 GMT: A video showing security forces allegedly opening fire on the protesters in Suez has been posted on YouTube. The origin of the video could not be independently verified.

20:07 GMT: It has been reported that five people were killed by security forces in Suez after the curfew was broken and people remained in the main square.

Five shot dead by security forces in Suez after breaking curfew to protest in square: medics

— Samer Al-Atrush (@SameralAtrush) August 16, 2013

18:24 GMT: Friday's death toll has been estimated as being at least 60, according to the latest statement from security officials.

RT's Bel Trew summarizes the day's events from Cairo, recalling how approximately 28 planned marches attempted to converge on Ramses Square in the capital, and the gunfire which ensued.

18:15 GMT: Some 24 members of the Egyptian police force have been killed since late yesterday evening, a security official stated on Friday. The total number of police killed in the violence now stands at 67. 

20 police officers were wounded today when assailants fired on two security cars in north of Cairo

— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) August 16, 2013

17:48 GMT: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has called on its supporters to engage in a nationwide week of marches and rallies, according to a statement released on Friday.

17:35 GMT: A massive fire has broken out at a building in Cairo's Ramses Square, near a hospital in the area, and has reportedly been blazing for over an hour. It is now less than 30 minutes to curfew.

17:09 GMT: According to the most recent AFP tally, at least 70 people were killed across Egypt on Friday.

16:50 GMT: Shots are being fired and smoke pours from Cairo's Four Seasons hotel. The pro-Morsi protesters involved in the attack are reportedly storming the building.

16:19 GMT: Five people died in Alexandria, Egypt's second largest city, on Friday. At least 15 were wounded in the clashes, according to an emergency services official who spoke to Reuters.

15:31 GMT: Some 50 people have been killed in Cairo protests across Friday, security officials told Reuters.

15:22 GMT: EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has requested that all EU member governments debate and co-ordinate appropriate EU measures on Egypt.

"I have been in constant touch with European Union foreign ministers, and I have asked member state representatives to debate and coordinate appropriate measures to be taken by the European Union in response to the situation in Egypt," she said, adding that responsibility for the tragedy "weighs heavily on the interim government."

15:20 GMT: Approximately 2,000 demonstrators have taken to the streets in two of Turkey’s biggest cities to protest the brutal security crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Egypt. The protesters have been waving Islamic flags and chanting anti-US slogans. The thousand-strong crowd in Ankara condemned US failure to label Morsi's ouster a coup, and chanted “Murderer America, get out of Turkey.”

15:17 GMT: The death toll from the protests sweeping central Cairo has climbed to 27 according to a Reuters witness.

14:52 GMT: Crowds have been setting piles of tyres ablaze in the vicinity of Cairo's May 15 bridge.

14:37 GMT:  Five people have been killed and a further 70 injured in clashes in the Egyptian town of Fayoum, some 130 km southwest of Cairo, Gamal Shuaib, manager of the Fayoum public hospital told Reuters.

14:22 GMT: Gunfire has reportedly resumed near Azbakeya police station, about 2km east of Cairo's 6 October Bridge.

Children throwing bottles at pro morsis at azbakeya station. Gunfire resumed after brief pause.

— أبو كار (@Sarahcarr) August 16, 2013

14:01 GMT: Friday's clashes across Egypt have killed at least 17 people, according to official counts.

14:00 GMT: Egypt has cancelled naval drills with Turkey in protest of Turkey's alleged 'interference' in Egypt's internal affairs.

13:50 GMT: People have been hurling themselves off the bridge near Cairo's Ramses police station in an attempt to escape to the street below.

People throwing themselves from bridge near Ramses police station to reach street level. #Egyptpic.twitter.com/62jpFoe2AH

— Carl Fridh Kleberg (@CFKlebergTT) August 16, 2013

13:39 GMT: Four people have been killed in protests in a central Cairo square which have left many further victims wounded, according to eyewitnesses. 

13:29 GMT: French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have called for EU ministers to meet next week to discuss the situation in Egypt.

13:29 GMT:

When the rifle rounds came from the sides, #Morsi supporters stood their ground &held up shoes towards the gunfire pic.twitter.com/icKKl8RvTJ

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) August 16, 2013

13:15 GMT: Police are using tear gas against Morsi supporters near the May 15 bridge.

13:00 GMT: British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande are to hold talks on Egypt today - RT's Paula Slier reports.

12:55 GMT: Eight people have died in the town of Damietta - local emergency services tell Reuters.

12:54 GMT: AFP reports at least five dead in the Cairo clashes.

12:53 GMT: 

MT @FraCicardi Tear gas reaching Ramses Sq in dwntwn Cairo. possibly frm 6 October bridge. Trying ro get out of here by metro... #Egypt

— Abigail Hauslohner (@ahauslohner) August 16, 2013

12:43 GMT: Germany has frozen a portion of its 25 million Euro development package to Egypt – German government sources told ITAR-TASS.

Approximately 15 million from that sum will be re-allocated to helping Syrian refugees in Jordan, as the country’s Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, Dirk Niebel says.

Although no further money injections into Egypt are planned at the time due to the security situation there, Niebel added that “we will not abandon Egypt”.

12:35 GMT:

Gunfire just started over Ramsis square, seems to be coming from the bridge. Automatic weapon. People holding their ground.

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) August 16, 2013

12:09 GMT: Four pro-Morsi protesters are killed by police in a canal city - security sources.

12:01 GMT: A policeman dies in an armed attack on a Cairo checkpoint - state media told AFP.

12:00 GMT:

Protesters chanting "Down with military rule as they march across May bridge in Cairo. Photo: pic.twitter.com/HfIQDJuJhZ

— Jared Malsin (@jmalsin) August 16, 2013

11:55 GMT: Muslim Brotherhood supporters have now blocked the '15 May' bridge.

11:52 GMT: Egyptian security forces warn that any violaton of the law will be dealt with firmly - local TV reports.

11:48 GMT:

Grieving families sitting next to bodies - crying and reading Koran. #Cairo#Egyptpic.twitter.com/pHmgQnWYhx

— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) August 16, 2013

11:47 GMT: Security forces have clashed with Mohamed Morsi supporters in northern Egypt – security officials told AFP.

10:10 GMT: Germany joins the list of countries issuing travel alerts to its citizens, after its foreign ministry’s announcement. The alert now includes Red Sea resorts like Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada.

"We advise against travel to Egypt, and advise urgently against travel to Cairo, upper Egypt and the Nile delta… Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle urges German citizens to take this travel advice very seriously," a spokesman told Reuters.

10:00 GMT: The Egyptian military will be guarding “vital installations” ahead of the Friday protests.

09:50 GMT: France’s foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, said Friday that violence in Egypt could benefit the country’s radical groups, and urged all sides to refrain from violence.

Fabius’s call came ahead of Friday’s planned “March of Anger” by the Muslim Brotherhood, and as security forces have been authorized to use lethal force against anyone who attacks them. Fabius said that "Given that Egypt was the guarantor of peace in the region, it's even more worrying… maximum restraint must be shown, otherwise the risk is extremist groups take advantage of the situation and that would be extremely dangerous.”

09:14 GMT: All approaches to Tahrir Square have been sealed off by security forces with armored vehicles and barbed wire as they brace for Friday’s protests.

A small group of pro-military protesters has remained in Tahrir Square since Morsi’s ouster as president in early July.

The Anwar al-Sadat underground station was also closed.

Tanks tightened their circle around Tahrir, several tanks facing outwards. People are now guarding entrances w/sticks wrapped in barbed wire

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) August 16, 2013

08:30 GMT: Russian tour operators have canceled charter trips to Egypt in the wake of Wednesday’s violent clashes in the country, after Moscow advised Russian tourists to stay away.  Customers who have already paid for their vacations will be allowed to go, Russia’s association of tour operators said in a statement.

01:40 GMT: Political activist Mahamed Hawary believes that the current situation in Egypt is a "typical war on terror" and the Muslim Brotherhood is "an insurgent group that was trying to hijack the country for their own good."

Hawary defended the government’s actions claiming that the army had to disperse the sit-ins. “There was no way to disperse them, rather than to use force,” Hawary told RT, elaborating that “tons of weaponry were recovered in sit-ins.”

“On the day of the operation, they were given several warnings, to disperse. Whoever was left were the armed individuals of the Muslim Brotherhood, not peaceful protesters.”

In regards to the death toll following Wednesday violence, says the blame lies with the Muslim Brotherhood. “They always use women and children as shields and I believe the police used the most restraint they were able to use” in such circumstance, Hawary said.

00:53 GMT:“This is a full-fledged coup turning bloody” Ahmed Naguib, political activist told RT in reference to the recent dispersal of pro Morsi protesters. 

“This is the re-emergence of the Mubarak regime with all its pillars back in place, such as national security with all its violations, and all the human rights violations,” Naguib told RT viewers.  

“The security apparatus was always loyal to the old regime and created security issues for the Morsi regime.” The democratic process is also threatened, the activist argues by “old retired generals being placed back in their positions.” Naguib also accuses Saudi Arabia and Kuwait of supporting the old regime’s forces.

00:14 GMT: Egyptian activists have released a video showing a man being targeted by a sniper, while trying to bring a wounded person to safety. Those people who then tried to help the men were also shot at. The origin of the footage could not be independently verified.

Thursday, August 15

23:47 GMT: Responding to a US Presidential assessment of the situation in Egypt, the country’s interim government said that Obama’s comments will encourage more violence in Egypt, the presidency said in a statement on Friday.

Furthermore, the Egyptian establishment says that Obama’s remarks were not based on "facts," when the US leader claimed that Egypt was facing "terrorist acts" by a number of attacks on churches and government.

"The presidency fears statements not based on facts may encourage violent armed groups," the office said in a statement. "Egypt is facing terrorist acts aimed at government institutions and vital installations."

23:40 GMT: After an emergency closed session of the UN Security Council, the body urges all parties in Egypt to end the violence and exercise maximum restraint, Council President María Cristina Perceval told reporters after the meeting. The UN Security Council has condemned the situation in Egypt and called on authorities and Egyptians to find a road to reconciliation.

22:28 GMT: The Muslim Brotherhood has called for "a Friday of Anger" in towns and villages across Egypt, after the deadly crackdown on pro-Morsi sit-ins on Wednesday.

"After the blows and arrests and killings that we are facing, emotions are too high to be guided by anyone," said Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad.

#BREAKING: Egypt Islamists call for Friday rallies in Cairo: spokesman

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) August 15, 2013

#AntiCoup rallies tomorrow will depart from all mosques of #Cairo & head towards #Ramisis square after Jumaa prayer in "Friday of Anger"

— Gehad El-Haddad (@gelhaddad) August 15, 2013

Activists opposing the pro-Morsi camp, the National Salvation Front (NSF) also called on Egyptians to protest on Friday against what it said was "obvious terrorism actions."

22:12 GMT: Kentucky Senator Rand Paul says cancelling the joint military exercise with Egypt is not enough, as federal law requires suspending military aid when there has been a military coup.

“While President Obama ‘condemns the violence in Egypt’, his administration continues to send billions of taxpayer dollars to help pay for it,” Paul said in a statement. 

“The law is very clear when a coup d’état takes place, foreign aid must stop, regardless of the circumstances,” the senator said.

On Thursday, President Obama cancelled plans for joint American-Egyptian military exercises but stopped short of cutting Washington’s $1.3 billion in annual military aid.

21:57 GMT:

#BREAKING: Egypt Islamists say police have taken over mosque containing protester bodies

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) August 15, 2013

21:28 GMT: Security forces are firing tear gas at protestors at al Iman mosque in Nasr city, Al Jazeera reports. Shots have also been heard.

The bodies of more than 600 people who have been killed are being held at Mosques in and around Cairo. Rows of corpses are laid out on the floor in white shrouds and piled with blocks of ice at the al Iman mosque, where relatives have flocked to grieve over the dead.

FJP say police force besiege El-Eman mosque. I visited it today - it contains 100s of dead morsi supporters. Anyone got any further info?

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) August 15, 2013

21:00 GMT: Egypt decided to recall its ambassador from Turkey for consultations, the state news agency reported on Thursday, after Ankara announced the same move.

"Nabil Fahmy, the foreign minister, decided to recall Egypt's ambassador in Ankara, Abdel Rahman Salah, for consultations," the state news agency reported, giving no further details.

20:48 GMT: As unrest in Egypt continues a number of foreign companies have temporarily closed their operations in the country. 

Toyota Motor and Suzuki Motor halted production on Thursday out of safety concerns, Nikkei reports. Sumitomo Electric Industries of Japan evacuated expatriates from the country.

Sweden’s Electrolux home appliances manufacturer that employees 7,000 people in Egypt, has reportedly also stopped production processes at several factories, International Business Times reports.

General Motors closed its assembly plant outside Cairo while Royal Dutch Shell shut its offices for the next few days and restricted business travel. In the meantime the country’s stock exchange and banks remain closed.

20:29 GMT: The UN Security Council will meet behind closed doors at 23:30 Egypt Time (21:30 GMT) to discuss the situation in Egypt. The meeting was jointly requested by France, the UK and Australia.

20:18 GMT: Following strong criticism of the Egyptian authorities over Wednesday’s clashes by Anakara, Turkey’s ambassador, Hüseyin Avni Botsali, to Egypt has been recalled for consultations, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan said Thursday.

20:14 GMT: Egypt's ambassador in the UK has told reporters at a news conference that many pro-Morsi protesters were armed during Wednesday’s clashes, therefore authorities had the right to respond with deadly force. He also suggested that in some cases protesters had shot one another to make their point.

"They (protesters) got what they wanted, they showed they were the victims," Ambassador Ashraf ElKholy said.

19:40 GMT: Egypt's Christian minority faces reprisal attacks after the army's crackdown on supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, Senior UN human rights officials say.

“A number of Christian churches and institutions have been targeted, including in the provinces of Assiut, Fayoum, Minya and Sohag, reportedly in retaliation to the incidents in Cairo," UN special advisors Adama Dieng and Jennifer Welsh said in statement, condemning the violence by the military and urging the sides to “take all possible steps to facilitate peaceful resolution of disputes in the country."

19:35 GMT: Egypt’s foreign ministry held a meeting with foreign reporters, explaining Wednesday’s dispersal of two large camps of pro-Morsi supporters, local Ahram paper reports.

Egyptian officials stressed that the decision to end the sit-ins came after a failure of negotiations and efforts by all sides, including the international community, to peacefully end the sit-ins.

Aerial footage of the dispersals was also shown, including a video of protesters using live ammunition against the security forces.

19:33 GMT: The death toll in Wednesday’s violence in Egypt has risen to 638 people, with 3,994 injured, AP reports citing the country’s Health Ministry.

19:00 GMT: The US State Department has warned the American citizens not to travel to Egypt and called on those already there to leave the country where at least 578 people were killed in clashes between the army and pro-Morsi protesters, AFP reports.

18:37 GMT: Senior European Union diplomats will meet in Brussels on Monday to assess the situation in Egypt and possible EU action, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said. The diplomats will discuss convening EU foreign ministers, but no decision on when the FMs would meet has been taken.

18:31 GMT: Australia, the UK and France have requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in order to discuss the deteriorating situation in Egypt. According to sources, the meeting may be held in the coming hours.

18:22 GMT: 578 people were killed in an Egyptian military crackdown on supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday, Reuters reports citing the country’s Health Ministry.

17:50 GMT: Egypt's Interior Ministry has authorised the use of live ammunition by police against protesters attacking government buildings, according to a statement on Thursday.

"The interior ministry has instructed all forces to use live ammunition to counter any attacks on government buildings or forces," it said.

17:48 GMT: The cabinet cancels shortening curfew hours. The curfew imposed in Cairo and 13 other major cities will still begin at 7pm local time (1700 GMT) and last till 6am, Egypt's interim authorities said in a statement.

17:47 GMT: The US is outraged by attacks on Coptic Churches in Egypt, said US state Department spokesperson Jen Psaki, who added that the US also condemns the attack on a government building in Giza. The country will continue reviewing its aid policy to Egypt.

17:25 GMT: US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Egypt on Thursday that the US remains ready to work with all parties to ensure a peaceful way forward is achieved in the country. In a call to Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, he said that the Pentagon would maintain military ties with the country.

"But I made it clear that the violence and inadequate steps towards reconciliation are putting important elements of our longstanding defense cooperation at risk," Hagel said in a statement to Reuters.

16:21 GMT: Curfew in Cairo and 13 other cities is to be shortened, the government said in a statement. It will start at 9pm local time, instead of 7pm, and will be lifted at 6am.

16:20 GMT: EU ministers are to meet next week to discuss the situation in Egypt, said Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino.

“We tried to mediate together with the United States, but it failed because the military accepted no compromises,” Bonino commented to the website Affaritaliani.it. “A meeting of EU foreign ministers is foreseen for Monday or Tuesday.”

The gathering has not yet been finalized, but ministers are expected to say yes.

16:19 GMT: Seven Egyptian soldiers have been killed near the city of El-Arish, North Sinai, having been shot to death by gunmen according to medical sources quoted by Reuters. A further five were injured in a different occurrence of gunfire when an army tent was struck with bullets. 

15:41 GMT: Live ammunition will be used to repulse any attack on public buildings or security forces, Egyptian state TV reports the Interior Ministry as saying.

15:20 GMT: The interim government said it is ready to combat "terrorist acts" by the Muslim Brotherhood. A government statement said it saw a "criminal plan to demolish the pillars of the Egyptian state." However, the government also said it was seeking an "inclusive political process" open to anyone who was not involved in violence.

14:40 GMT: US President Barack Obama has called off joint US-Egypt military drills which had been scheduled to take place next month. The biannual Bright Star exercise is central to US-Egyptian relations since it began some three decades ago. Obama condemned the “steps that have been taken by Egypt’s interim government and security forces” and  said "the cycle of violence and escalation" needs to be stopped.

14:22 GMT:

I can't tweet pictures as they are too graphic, brains spilling out of skulls, charred corpses, teenagers who lost a section of their head

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) August 15, 2013

14:20 GMT: At least three people were killed and 55 others injured when Muslim Brotherhood supporters clashed with local residents at a rally in Alexandria, reports Al Arabiya.

13:45 GMT: the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, called on Egypt to “step back from the brink of disaster.” The plea was aimed at all sides involved in the conflict. However, Pillay said that they death toll indicated that “an excessive, even extreme use of force” had been employed against demonstrators and said that those responsible for deaths should be held to account. 

13:26 GMT: Hundreds of pro-Morsi protesters have stormed a government building in Egypt’s third largest city of Giza. They threw Molotov cocktails and fired shots at the building, setting it on fire. The interior ministry says all government employees were evacuated before the siege began. 

Picture: Giza government building completely destroyed by fire after pro-Morsi stormed it a while ago. pic.twitter.com/VBUkffkZoq

— The Big Pharaoh (@TheBigPharaoh) August 15, 2013

12:50 GMT: The Muslim Brotherhood-led Anti-Coup Alliance suffered “a very serious blow” in the confrontation with security forces when a number of its leaders were arrested, a spokesman for the movement said.

11:54 GMT: Hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood members are marching in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, protesting against the Wednesday crackdown on sit-ins in the capital Cairo. 

"We will come back again for the sake of our martyrs," the marchers chanted, referring to the hundreds of protesters killed Wednesday in the security operation across Egypt. Some protesters carried portraits of ousted President Mohamed Morsi. 

مسيرة الإخوان دلوقتي في سيدي بشر ماشية في اتجاه فيكتوريا عددهم لا يقل عن ٥ آلاف #الاخوان #الاسكندريةpic.twitter.com/7nKPeZaTLN

— Muhammad Hegazy (@MuhammadHegazy) August 15, 2013

11:51 GMT:

Inside the rabaa field hospital - absolutely gutted pic.twitter.com/T9yIll8HUX

— Alice Fordham (@AliceFordham) August 15, 2013

11:35 GMT: The detention of ousted President Mohamed Morsi was extended for another 30 days, MENA news agency reported. The president is being held in an undisclosed location. European officials visited him during the recent international attempt at mediation and confirmed he is alive and well.

11:30 GMT: Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood outside Egypt took to the streets of cities around the world to voice their support for the movement amid athe security crackdown. Demonstrations were held Thursday in Malaysia, Indonesia, Kuwait and Turkey, with protesters calling for an end of military rule and reinstatement of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.

11:14 GMT:

I'm in charred remains of rabaa el-adawiya mosque which was at heart of sit-in. Everything has been burnt to the ground. Alls left are shoes

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) August 15, 2013

GMT 10:44: A group of 19 tourists from Poland have been stranded in their Egyptian holiday resort due to the ongoing turmoil in the country, Polish television channel TVN24 reported. They were supposed to leave the country via the Al Nakb Airport in the Sinai Peninsula, but the roads from their resort were blocked. On Wednesday, the Polish Foreign Ministry warned its citizens to be cautious while visiting Egypt.

10:32 GMT: Egypt’s Ambassador to Britain, Ashraf El Kholy, has been called in to the Foreign Office to hear London’s concerns over the violence in Egypt.

10:16 GMT: Military prosecutors are to investigate 84 people from the city of Suez, including some Muslim Brotherhood members, over allegations of murder and burning down Christian churches, Egyptian state news agency MENA reported.

10:11 GMT: Germany has summoned Egyptian Ambassador Mohamed Abdelhamid Ibrahim Higazy to explain the Egyptian government’s violent crackdown on the opposition. Germany sees the most important task now as preventing an escalation of violence, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said.

09:50 GMT: Al-Jazeera reported seeing more than 250 bodies killed at Wednesday’s protest camps stored at a mosque in northeast Cairo. Egypt’s Health Ministry’s latest death toll currently stands at 421, based on a body count of corpses transported to hospitals and morgues.

09:15 GMT: The Muslim Brotherhood announced plans to hold a protest march on Thursday in defiance of the government’s crackdown and state of emergency.

"Marches are planned this afternoon from Al-Iman mosque to protest the deaths," the Islamist group said in a statement.

09:00 GMT: France has called on Egyptian Ambassador Nasser Ahmed Kamel to explain Wednesday’s security crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. French President Hollande urged action "to avoid civil war" in Egypt. Earlier, France joined an international chorus of condemnation of the violence.

08:43 GMT: Egypt has closed its border crossing with the Gaza Strip indefinitely, citing the deteriorating security situation, Turkey’s Anadolu news agency reported, citing a source in the Gaza Strip. The move comes after increasing violence in the Sinai Peninsula, where militants have been attacking Egyptian military outposts.

08:40 GMT: 

Any country continues 2 back & provide aid/support 2 tyrannical #Military_Coup gov in #Egypt will b considered complicit in it. #AntiCoup

— Gehad El-Haddad (@gelhaddad) August 15, 2013

08:20 GMT: Russia’s Foreign Ministry called on Egypt’s various political factions to act in their country’s national interests and prevent further escalation of violence in the country. 

“We are convinced that the democratic renovation and thorough reform in the interest of all Egyptians is only possible through an encompassing dialogue, a renewal of a political process based on national reconciliation,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said.

The ministry also warned Russian tourists visiting Egypt to refrain from visiting Cairo and other large cities.

07:35 GMT: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the UN Security Council to convene quickly and take action over the Egyptian crisis.

"Those who remain silent in the face of this massacre are as guilty as those who carried it out," Erdogan told a news conference in Ankara.

07:30 GMT: Wednesday’s violence across Egypt left at least 343 people dead and almost 3,000 injured, the country’s Health Ministry said. The majority of victims were killed by gunshots or suffocated in concentrated tear gas clouds, the ministry said. 

05:40 GMT: Traffic restarted through Cairo districts where the Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins were previously located. The movement apparently remains defiant in the face of a continued crackdown by security forces, with spokesman Gehad El-Haddad pledging on his Twitter account “to bring down the military coup" through peaceful action.

00:46 GMT: Amnesty International is working on the ground in Egypt to authenticate any abuses that have been carried out as authorities cleared pro-Morsi sit-ins on Wednesday. The organization also urged all sides to avoid further bloodshed.

“Promises by the authorities to use lethal methods only as a last resort to disperse protesters appear to have been broken. All too often in the past the Egyptian security forces have used excessive force against demonstrators with catastrophic consequences,” said Philip Luther, Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

The “immediate priority” for the security forces, Amnesty says, is to avoid further loss of life.

In response to reports of restricted access to the main hospital near the Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in, the organization called on authorities to provide a safety corridor.   

“As an immediate step, any injured protesters must be granted unimpeded access to medical treatment. The authorities must also ensure safe exit for anyone wishing to leave the sit-in,” said Philip Luther.

00:32 GMT: Egypt's health ministry has raised the civilian death toll to 238 with more than 2,000 injured in clashes across the country. Muslim Brotherhood meanwhile claims that at least 2,600 people have been killed and over 10,000 injured during the crackdown.

GMT 00:17: Western diplomats were warning the Egyptian military not to use force against the Muslim Brotherhood right up until it happened, Reuters reports, citing western and Egyptian sources. Despite this, the hardline position prevailed.

"We had a political plan that was on the table, that had been accepted by [the Muslim Brotherhood]," said EU envoy Bernardino Leon, who was involved in an attempt to mediate a solution to the crisis. "They could have taken this option. So all that has happened today was unnecessary."

The generals chose to face down international criticism over the crackdown, including diplomatic condemnation and the prospect of losing international aid for the country’s cash-strapped economy, an Egyptian source said. The generals were pressured by public opinion into taking action, after critical comments from visiting US senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham last week and leaked reports of a possible deal between the authorities and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Wednesday, August 14

23:47 GMT: Ecuador has recalled its ambassador to Egypt for consultations following the crackdown on pro-Morsi protesters.

“Following the coup d’état which toppled President Morsi in July of this year, Egyptian society has been wrapped up in a climate of civil protest and repression on the part of the de facto government," the brief statement said.

23:00 GMT: A group of Christian activists has assembled a report claiming that at least 45 Christian building were attacked by pro-Morsi protesters on Wednesday.  In Minya, the group counted 12 attacks, while 8 were reported in Assiut.  Both cities have seen violence on Wednesday as protesters clashed with security forces. Authorities fired tear gas at thousands of Morsi supporters who had set one of the churches on fire in Minya. In Assiut about 3,000 Morsi supporters clashed with police.

Churches in Egypt had canceled morning masses and closed their doors in anticipation of any violence that would target the congregations.

— Nermien Riad (@NermienRiad) August 14, 2013

MB Burning another church in #Assiut in upper #Egypt | #MB_are_terrorists| pic.twitter.com/5fB0kFCAaq

— الأجزاخنجي (@GasseroV) August 14, 2013

22:17 GMT: Revised figures suggest 41 people have been killed in Minya province alone, Ahram online sites Minya’s head of the Health Ministry. Six of the dead are policemen. The total number of casualties stands at 278 according to the Egyptian Health Ministry.

21:36 GMT: Egyptian authorities have released a video showing a large number of arms and ammunition allegedly seized from Morsi supporters in Al Nadha Square in Giza. The origin of the footage could not be independently verified.

21:28 GMT: Protesters are defying the curfew imposed across Egypt. Pro-Morsi rallies have been reported in Port Said and North Sinai.

21:25 GMT:  EU’s chief diplomat, Catherine Ashton urged Egypt’s government to end a month-long state of emergency imposed earlier on Wednesday.

“I call on the security forces to exercise utmost restraint and on the interim government to end the state of emergency as soon as possible, to allow the resumption of normal life,” Ashton said.

Ashton condemned the violence and criticized the burning of Christian churches.

“I also condemn the attacks on churches and offices that have taken place in the course of what has been a violent day, leaving the country in a state of emergency and heading into an uncertain future,” she added.

21:10 GMT: Following the brutal assault on Egyptian protest camps, the United States is considering calling off a military exercise with Egypt, a US official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The possibility of scrapping the "Bright Star" exercise was discussed at a meeting of the "deputies committee," which gathers officials from key US national security agencies, the official said.

20:55: GMT: Egypt's interim premier, Hazem El-Beblawi, told Egyptians Wednesday evening that the country can no longer accept the pro-Morsi sit-ins, Ahram online reports.

"As a state, we reached a level in which we cannot accept this method of protesting. Still we gave a chance for reconciliation, and even for international meditation, in order to have democracy in the future. But there was no respect for the right of peaceful protest," said El-Beblawi.

Claiming that the government is acting in the best interest of the people during the month of Ramadan, claiming that the goal was achieved.

"The first phase is achieved, but now with the current chaos the state has to intervene with exceptional procedures," the premier said, referencing the state of emergency that has been imposed for a month starting Wednesday 4pm. 

20:17 GMT: Egypt is getting “close to a civil war” as the country has been taken over by a “hard hand military coup,” war correspondent Eric Margolis told RT.

“This is the counter revolution by the old guard, by Mubarak’s people, to re-establish their position in Egypt. They’ve seized the high points in Egypt, all the control levels which the Muslim Brotherhood never had, and are re-imposing their will very quickly.”

The new government, Margolis says successfully “re-imposed a reactionary group of security officers, police, bureaucrats, judges” as well as taking over the media sources.

Margolis claims that all of this is being financed by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, because the West is turning “a blind eye” to events in Egypt. Supporters of the “putsch” want Mubarak and his forces to “crush the demands for real democracy,” as Margolis foresees Mubarak “may be let out of jail soon.”

20:00 GMT: At least 278 people were killed and 2,001 others injured in Wednesday violence nationwide, reports Al Jazeera quoting the Ministry of Health. The tally includes 43 killed policemen.100 people were killed in Cairo with most fatalities having occurred in the square outside Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque.

19:35 GMT: Egypt's Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim denies the statement issued earlier that eight senior Muslim Brotherhood leaders, including Mohamed el-Beltagi, had been arrested.

19:26 GMT: Thousands of arms have been seized during the police operation, PM El-Beblawi said.

19:10 GMT: Interim PM Hazem El-Beblawi says the two protest camps in Cairo have been completely cleared and no more protest camps will be allowed.

19:01 GMT: 43 police members were killed in clashes with Pro-Morsi protesters on Wednesday nationwide; 211 others sustained injuries, the Interior Ministry said. They added that Muslim Brotherhood supporters torched 7 mosques and attacked 21 police stations across the country.

18:53 GMT: Interim Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi calls for minute of silence for "fallen martyrs."

18:52 GMT: The US State Department says America's aid policy on Egypt is still under review.

"Looking at the events today and the events of the last couple of weeks we will continue to not only monitor and be engaged, but will review the implications for our broader relationship, which includes aid," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a daily briefing

US officials have been grappling with how to respond to the situation in Egypt, in particular, how to handle the $1.55 billion in mostly military aid that Washington sends each year to Cairo, a key ally in the Middle East.

The situation in the country remains fluid, but the State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki still would not characterize it as a “civil war.”

18:41 GMT: Interim Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi pledges the state of emergency will last "for the shortest time possible", reports Al-Arabiya. The PM added that Egypt remains committed to the electoral process under a civilian state and that every chance was given to diplomatic solutions.

18:36 GMT: 41 people were killed in the city of Minya, 200 km south of the capital, as security forces assaulted protest camps set up by pro-Morsi supporters, Health Ministry officials said. The tally includes 6 policemen and the head of a local ambulance department.

18:30 GMT: US Secretary of State John Kerry called Wednesday's events in Egypt "deplorable" calling for a sooner end of the proclaimed state of emergency and curfew. "Violence is simply not a solution", it can only "further tear the economy apart", he added.

"The interim government and the military - which together possess the preponderance of power in this confrontation - have a unique responsibility to prevent further violence and to offer constructive options for an inclusive peaceful process across the political spectrum," Kerry told reporters at the State Department.

"This includes amending the constitution and holding parliamentary and presidential elections, which the interim government itself has called for," he said.

17:48 GMT: A collective of pro-Morsi supporters have called on fellow Egyptians to continue to stage nationwide protests against what it  deems an 'army coup'. The group calls itself the Anti-Coup Alliance.

17:44 GMT: Egyptian security forces have arrested eight Muslim Brotherhood leaders during the police operation to take over Rabaa, sources told NBC News. Security officials went on to announce their forces are in total control of the main protest camp.

I've never seen such a bloody fight in Egypt.The security forces kept us ducking behind cars,under a barrage of bullets for 8 hours straight

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) August 14, 2013

17:39 GMT: State TV announced that the curfew has been postponed, meaning it will start at 9pm rather than 4pm, as had been previously announced. It will still continue until 6am.

Fireworks were seen going off in the capital. However, it was unclear weather they were ignited intentionally, as has been the case at previous protests, or whether it was by accident, because of the numerous blazes which have been happening in the city.

17:12 GMT: Russia has shut the consular section of its Cairo embassy for two days, according to the Foreign Ministry. Moscow has called on the interim authorities in Egypt to prevent any further bloodshed. 

16:34 GMT: The country's second largest Islamist party, the Nour Party, has condemned the political violence, calling for it to end while saying it "threatens to split society."

The party said that it was holding the army-backed government responsible for the deaths of at least 149 people across the country, after security forces made their move against pro-Morsi rallies. 

16:31 GMT: 15 people were killed in clashes based in the northeastern city of Ismailia, according to further medical sources who spoke to Reuters. The proportion of the 15 who had been police and the proportion who had been civilians remains unclear. The deaths were caused predominantly by live ammunition. however, others died after being wounded by birdshot. 

16:25 GMT: Egyptian police forces have seized full control of the second camp of Morsi supporters in Cairo, according to state TV. It was reported that pro-Morsi loyalists were allowed safe passage out of the camp.

15:47 GMT: The health ministry has confirmed that the nationwide death toll currently stands at 149, with a further 1,403 injured.

army cleared rabaa morgue rooms of alive ppl & is now burning bodies, main stage burnt, thousands arrested, killing still going on 4 12th hr

— Gehad El-Haddad (@gelhaddad) August 14, 2013

15:46 GMT: Egypt's acting Vice President and Nobel laureate, Mohammed ElBaradei, has resigned. In his resignation letter to the acting President, he said that there had been peaceful methods by which the country's political crisis could have been ended.

"...there were proposed and acceptable solutions for beginnings that would take us to national consensus...It has become difficult for me to continue bearing responsibility for decisions that I do not agree with and whose consequences I fear. I cannot bear the responsibility for one drop of blood," he wrote.

15:33 GMT: The death toll from Fayoum clashes has risen to 35 according to a health ministry official. Meanwhile, Pro-Morsi supporters have shot four policemen to death at a police station in Cairo, state TV reported.

.@Alastair_Beach from inside Rabaa told me on phone police armed with rifles are now inside the field hospital, evacuated everyone inside.

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) August 14, 2013

15:15 GMT: "The US strongly condemns the use of violence against protesters in Egypt," said Josh Earnest, the White House deputy press secretary. "We have repeatedly called on Egypt security forces to show restraint," he stated, "just as we have urged protesters to demonstrate peacefully." The US asked that Egypt's interim government respected human rights and stated its strong opposition to the declaration of a state of emergency.

15:00 GMT: Am Egyptian cabinet statement announced that a curfew from 7pm to 6am local time is in place for the length of the state of emergency, encompassing Cairo, and 10 further provinces, including Suez, North and South Sinai, and Giza.

"Whoever violates these orders will be punished with imprisonment," the government said.

While the Suez Canal is operating as usual, the curfew could cause some delays, Reuters later heard from shipping sources.

14:50 GMT: Alexandria Library and Cairo's engineering college have both been subject to bouts of gunfire. State TV reported shots fired around the college while Alexandria Library suffered a direct attack, according to Al Arabiya. 

14:07 GMT: Egypt's health ministry are now saying that 95 people died in Wednesday's clashes. "The dead are both from police and civilians. We are waiting to get more details," the ministry's spokesman, Hamdi Abdel Karim, told Reuters.

13:45 GMT: A month-long state of emergency has been announced by Egypt's current President, starting at 4pm local time.  He has authorized the armed forces to support the interior ministry in imposing the state of emergency, according to a statement.

Parts of #Cairo a ghost town today. People glued to TVs, most shops closed, streets almost entirely vacant. #Egypt

— Sarah Lynch (@sarahbethlynch) August 14, 2013

13:38 GMT: A security source has informed the newspaper Youm 7 that Rabaa al-Adawya square is to be cleared completely within 30 minutes.

13:32 GMT: The Ministry of Health have upped their death count to 60 dead, with a further 874 injured, according to state-owned outlet Ahram.

13:25: The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the violence used to disperse protesters from the capital.

“In the aftermath of today’s violence, the Secretary-General urges all Egyptians to concentrate their efforts on promoting genuinely inclusive reconciliation,” his spokesperson said.

13:11 GMT: The death toll at one hospital in Cairo has risen to 60 after police raided a pro-Morsi rally, a medical worker told Reuters. 

12:52 GMT: The number dead in Fayoum has risen to 17, according to the state news agency.

12:51 GMT: Current AFP reports state that the death toll stands at 124. The reporter who counted the bodies in three morgues at Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque says many appear to have died from gunshot wounds.

Complete chaos, the police are attacking Rabaa from all sides, bullets& gas. Can't tell where the bullets are coming from, just keep ducking

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) August 14, 2013

The 17 year old daughter of a Muslim Brotherhood leader, Mohamed el-Beltagi, was killed when police raided Rabaa square in Cairo. Her brother stated that she had been shot on his Twitter account.

12:45 GMT: Egypt's health ministry have stated that in total 56 people have been killed and a further 526 injured in clashes across the country, according to AP. Khaled el-Khateeb, the official, stated that 28 were killed in Cairo on Wednesday when police confronted two separate pro-Morsi camps, adding that a further 25 had been killed in Minya province to Cairo’s south and just one killed in each city of Alexandria, Assiut and Ban Suef.

12:35 GMT: Five people have been killed in Suez after pro-Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators attempted to storm a government building, according to a medical official. 

12:20 GMT: Nasr City police fired gunshots in the air to disperse Muslim Brotherhood protesters, reported an Al Arabiya correspondent. A curfew intended to be set in place will also be "strictly implemented," according to the reports.

A man just died in front of us shot in the chest with a bullet. Paramedics tried to revive him by Rabaa sit-in

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) August 14, 2013

12:12 GMT: Sky TV Arabic have confirmed that one of their cameramen, Mick Deane, has been killed in Rabaa al Adawiya, Egypt.  

12:01 GMT:

Tear gas, molotovs, clashes west of war memorial and #Rabaa, on and under October Bridge. Internet too slow to tweet pics.

— ارون Aaron T. Rose (@Aaron_T_Rose) August 14, 2013

11:55 GMT: The Iranian Foreign Ministry has spoken out against the violence with which the protests were supressed, calling it a "brutal crackdown,""killing of scores of the Egyptian people."

11:50 GMT:

8 hrs of mass killings & not single sane person in Egypt or in world 2 stop this !! Over 2000 killed & over 10,000 injured & world watches

— Gehad El-Haddad (@gelhaddad) August 14, 2013

11:43 GMT: Hospital officials report that at least nine people have been killed in the northeastern province of Fayoum during violent clashes between Morsi supporters and Egypt's police forces. The fighting occurred at two police stations that were being attacked by protesters, during which one police vehicle was set alight according to witnesses cited by Reuters. The death toll rose from the seven that had been identified earlier in the day.   

11:40 GMT: Habeeba Abdelaziz, a Egyptian journalist from from Dubai, has been pronounced dead in the chaos.

11:30 GMT: The Turkish PM Erdogan has added his voice, imploring the UN security council and the Arab League to stop the "massacre" in Egypt, according to an official statement.

11:00 GMT: Qatar has condemned the Egyptian security forces' attack, according to the state news agency. A foreign ministry official insructed them to "refrain from the security option in dealing with peaceful protests, and to preserve the lives of Egyptians at protest sites." 

10:20 GMT: Morsi supporters torch three churches in Egypt in reprisal attacks as police dispersed demonstrations in Cairo. The assailants threw firebombs at Mar Gergiss church in Sohag, a city with a large community of Coptic Christians, causing the structure to burn down, the official MENA news agency said.

Authorities told Agence France Presse that another two churches were attacked in El-Menia province, leaving them partially damaged by fire.08:00 GMT: Protests spreading across Egypt following Cairo crackdown. Pro-Morsi supporters are massing in second city of Alexandria, as well as in Aswan and Beni Suef.

09:46 GMT:  EU says reports of deaths of protesters in Egypt are extremely worrying, calls for restraint from authorities.

09:27 GMT:  Health Ministry says 13 people are dead including five police officers.

09:04 GMT: Six people injured in clashes in Gharbya, area about an hour north of Cairo, according to Al-Jazeera.

EI reporters: scene at Rabaa is like war zone, injured protesters everywhere

— Egypt Independent (@EgyIndependent) August 14, 2013

08:41 GMT: Nahda Square in central Cairo is cleared of protesters, while confusion remains at Rabaa Square over the number of casualties, according to witness accounts given to local media

08:37 GMT: Transportation Ministry orders the shutdown of Cairo-bound trains as violence continues. Opposition activists say the move is to prevent protesters from traveling to the capital following the violent dispersal of pro-Morsi gatherings this morning.

08:32GMT: A number of leading officials in Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood were arrested on Wednesday, an official said, after security forces cleared out a camp of Cairo protesters who were demanding the reinstatement of deposed President Mohamed Morsi.

"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.

08:00 GMT: Egyptian security forces forcefully dispersed protesters loyal to ousted President Mohammed Morsi at protest camps in Cairo early Wednesday. At least 15 people, including some members of the security forces, were reported killed in the clashes. Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad, however, claimed that as many as 600 people had been killed and 5,000 injured in the police operation.

death toll now estimated at 600, bodies still coming, no end in sight . god save egypt

— Gehad El-Haddad (@gelhaddad) August 14, 2013

Sunday, August 11

16:11 GMT: Police are expected to begin taking action against pro-Morsi protesters early on Monday, said security sources.

15:45 GMT: Thousands of Morsi supporters rallied in Cairo, mainly gathering at the square near Rabaa Adawiya mosque, Al Jazeera reported.

12:15 GMT: Morsi supporters have called more rallies for Sunday. The Anti-Coup Alliance said that ten marches would take place in Cairo "to defend the electoral legitimacy" of the ousted president, AFP reported.

Saturday, August 3

17:30 GMT: 37 Morsi loyalists have been accused of "terrorism" after they allegedly joined clashes on Friday outside the Egyptian Media Production City, which left over twenty people injured. The Health Ministry said that 23 people were wounded outside the media center, which are home to a number of satelite channels that are scathingly criticial of Morsi and his allies. 

15:13 GMT: Supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi told US and EU mediators on Saturday that they respected the demands of a mass protest that led to Morsi’s downfall, but rejected the role of Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in any political deal, according to a report published by Reuters. Tarek El-Malt, a pro-Morsi spokesman, told the agency that Egypt’s crisis should be resolved on the basis of the Constitution introduced by Morsi’s government, which was revoked after his ouster. “We have the readiness and flexibility to accept political solutions to get out of this crisis as long as they are based on constitutional legitimacy, by which we mean the return and reactivation of the 2012 constitution,” El-Malt said said, adding that “the army will not have a role in political solutions.”

12:14 GMT: In the latest bout of unrest, 23 people have been injured at a Media Production City complex in Cairo, including two policemen.

The Egyptian Interior Ministry said that police had taken 31 members of the Muslim Brotherhood into custody after they attempted to break into the complex. They chanted slogans against the military and prominent media figures.

Friday, August 2

21:56 GMT: Amnesty International says that there is evidence, and eye witness accounts indicating that Pro-Morsi supporters tortured their rivals. Testimonies from victims include accounts of how they were captured, assaulted and subjected to electric shocks by loyalists of the former President, since mass rival rallies began over a month ago. The organization also claims that eight bodies at the morgue in Cairo also showed signs of torture. At least five of these were discovered near pro-Morsi sit-ins around the capital. In a press release, Amnesty said “Torture or other ill-treatment at the hands of security forces in Egypt has continued under successive governments. Police and security forces continue to torture or otherwise ill-treat detainees with total impunity.”

19:24 GMT: Two soldiers were injured in clashes in Media Production City in Cairo, reports Nile TV.

19:00 GMT: Egyptian police close all the roads leading to Media Production City in the capital, according to Al-Arabiya.

18:51 GMT:

A car ran over the protesters in Alf-Maskan caused 8 injuries #egyanticoup#AntiCoup#Egypt@aa_arabic

— Yusuf Abdulbaky (@yossef81) August 2, 2013

18:44 GMT: "Thousands" of Morsi supporters have been taking to streets in Egypt, according to state media. Rallies set off from 33 mosques across Cairo and Giza under the slogan “Egypt Against the Coup.”

18:00 GMT: There have been reports of tents and barricades going up after police tried to disperse protesters with tear gas at the Media Production City rally in support of the ousted President.

17:56 GMT: A third pro-Morsi camp was established in the eastern Cairo neighborhood of Heliopolis, near the airport, reportedly thousands set up tents and blocked traffic.

17:25 GMT: Thousands of pro-Morsi protesters are rallying at the Raba Adawiya camp in the north of Cairo.

17:10 GMT: Morsi supporters plan to march on Egypt army Headquarters, AFP reports.

16:40 GMT: Security forces used tear gas in an attempt to disperse pro-Morsi supporters as they tried to storm a complex containing most of Egypt's private television stations in the 6th October suburb in Cairo, according to a security official as cited by AFP.

The Interior Ministry said the demonstrators had blocked traffic near the television production complex. The Freedom and Justice party, an affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood party, confirmed the information saying that “the Egyptian police forces have fired gas bombs on the anti-coup peaceful protesters as soon as they arrived at the Media Production City.” There is no information on the number of casualties.

Police is attacking the #AntiCoup protest with #Teargas#EgyAntiCoup#Egypt#ProDemocracypic.twitter.com/5EDiKtZqSP

— Yusuf Abdulbaky (@yossef81) August 2, 2013

Aerial shot of #Rabaa sit-in. Huge crowds extending down roads, can't even see the end of them! #EgyAntiCouppic.twitter.com/hhlK8KDhV0

— Fatima Said (@fattysaid) August 2, 2013

16:26 GMT: Reports of clashes and tear gas as police try to disperse hundreds of supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi rallying in Cairo.

#Egypt security forces teargassed a group of pro-#Morsi protesters by Media City, far from main Rabaa/Nahda sit-ins @AFP reporting

— Sara Hussein (@sarahussein) August 2, 2013

16:00 GMT: The United States will work with other nations to unite the Egyptian people and find a way out of the current crisis, said Secretary of State John Kerry  before a meeting with the United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister in London

“Egypt needs to get back to a new normal, it needs to restore stability, to be able to attract business and put people to work,” said Kerry. “We will work very very hard together with others, in order to bring parties together to find a peaceful resolution that grows the democracy and respects the rights of everybody.”

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates' Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said that a peaceful resolution in Egypt is only going to happen through "inclusive dialogue."

15:40 GMT: Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi realizes that Egypt’s crisis needs a political solution, said Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei in an Interview to Washington Post. 

"He understands that there has to be a political solution. But of course he has a responsibility to protect the country in terms of security. And the army is on the edge,” said ElBaradei.

13:30 GMT: The US embassy in Cairo announced that it will be closed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The closure is a precautionary step to protect employees as well as those visiting the embassy, it said in a statement.

The diplomats also warned US citizens to avoid protests and marches planned for Friday, as well as ongoing pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo.

Speaking to protesters at Nahda,who keep drenching me with water,they say clearing the sit-in starts bad precedent of attacking any protest

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) August 2, 2013

06:00 GMT: The supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi have promised more rallies on Friday, in defiance of police calls for a halt to protests and sit-ins. Allaa Mosafa, a spokeswoman for the pro-Morsi Anti Coup Alliance slammed Morsi’s removal by the military as a “coup d’état” and pledged to “continue our sit-ins and our peaceful protests."

Wednesday, July 31

18:35 GMT: Egypt’s call to disperse sit-ins is a “recipe for disaster,” according to British foreign minister William Hague. Hague called for peaceful resolution to the conflict between the two camps in the hope of putting an end to bloodshed in Egypt during a phone conversation with Mohamed El Baradei on Wednesday.

17:30 GMT: A spokeswoman for the US Department of State urged Egypt to respect the demonstrators’ right to peaceful assembly shortly after the signal that decisive action was to be taken against them.

"We have continued to urge the interim government to respect the right of peaceful assembly," deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf told a regular daily briefing. "That obviously includes sit-ins."

16:35 GMT: A blast hit an army patrol unit in Al-Arish, northern Sinai, shortly after Egypt’s interim government said that pro-Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins are a threat to national security and unacceptable.

Egypt’s pro-Morsi supporters then vowed to continue with the protests despite the anticipated crackdown.

Monday, July 29 

20:12 GMT: Fifteen people have been killed in a gunfight between street vendors and shop owners in the central Cairo district of El-Moski, state news agency MENA reported. One of the shops was set on fire. Firefighters contained the blaze before it spread to any nearby buildings, but many of the victims died inside the shop, AFP reported. The gunfight was allegedly caused by a dispute between street vendors and shop owners over trading spaces.

19:15 GMT: The White House has condemned violence in Egypt which left at least 80 Muslim Brotherhood supporters dead over the weekend, although it noted that it has not taken steps to suspend US military assistance to the country. "The United States strongly condemns the violence and bloodshed in Cairo and Alexandria over the weekend that claimed the lives of scores of Egyptian demonstrators," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at a Monday briefing.

Security forces fired on protesters Saturday morning, following a day of rival mass rallies in Cairo, Reuters reported. Journalists pressed Earnest on whether the rising casualties in the clashes following Morsi’s removal from office would prompt the United States to pull back any portion of its annual $1.55 billion aid to Egypt. In response, Earnest said the White House had no “change in our posture to report.” Current US law requires eliminating aid in the event of a military coup, though officials said last week it is not in the national interest to make such a determination, while publicly avoiding the use of the word “coup” to characterize the removal of the Islamist president by the Egyptian military.

01:30 GMT: Egyptian prosecutors have ordered the arrest of 72 protesters for the period of 15 days over the violence in Nasr City, Cairo.

00:30 GMT: There are unconfirmed reports the pro-Morsi march has changed course, and is heading back toward Nasr City now. It is now known that the thousands-strong march chanted "our blood and souls we sacrifice for Mursi."

00:10 GMT: Reuters now also confirms that Morsi supporters have started a march from the vigil in Cairo toward the headquarters of Egyptian military intelligence, according to a spokesman. This is being done in spite of the miliatry's warnings to stay away from military facilities. Their statement has made clear that they knew of the march in advance, but also urged protesters "not to come close to military facilities in general, and the headquarters of military intelligence specifically."

Murad Ali, a Brotherhood spokesman, said the march started at the Rabaa al-Adaqiya mosque in northern Cairo.

Sunday, July 28

23:13 GMT:

RT @Nadawassef: News that MB are heading to Mil Intelligence HQ. #Egypt via CBC. This could get bloody.

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 28, 2013

22:48 GMT:  there are two anti-Morsi/anti-Military movements: one of them comprised of the founders of Abol Fotouh's political party.

22:42 GMT: Apparently, the new movement is gaining momentum, as it marched through Mohandiseen, numbering 300 people. 

Photo from tonight's anti-military anti-brotherhood protest in sphinx square. #thirdsquare#egyptpic.twitter.com/8VI3yrQBQp

— tom finn (@tomfinn2) July 28, 2013

22:00 GMT:

All eyes on #thirdsquare - the new anti-military anti-brotherhood protest movement calling for change. Currently marching thru Mohandiseen

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 28, 2013

21:15 GMT: RT's Bel Trew reports the Muslim Brotherhood will no longer speak to Egyptian media.

20:35 GMT:

RT @EgyIndependent: Health Ministry: 29 injured in Port Said clashes, no deaths http://t.co/Jv09u11TK6

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 28, 2013

18:02 GMT:

Police officers of infamous #NasrCity station open fire again @ Omar Niazy's funeral & arrest father of deceased amongst others !!! #Egypt

— Gehad El-Haddad (@gelhaddad) July 28, 2013

18:00 GMT: The Egyptian government's official gazette has published a presidential decree which gives Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi the power to grant the military the right to arrest civilians, AP reported. Government officials say the decision could be a prelude to a major crackdown on Mohamed Morsi's supporters or militants who have stepped up attacks against security forces in the Sinai Peninsula.

17:45 GMT: The Egyptian authorities consider leaving Morsi’s supporters without food and water. The demonstrators have been participating in a sit-in near Cairo’s Rabea al-Adaweya mosque since July 3.

Minister of Industry and Trade Dr. Mounir Fakhri Abdel Nour, suggests cutting supplies to pro #Morsi sit-in to get them to move (via AMAY)

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 28, 2013

16:16 GMT: Mohamed Morsi is being held on a villa owned by one of the military structures situated on the Cairo-Suez route, according to Egypt’s Al Watan daily. Surveillance cameras were installed on the premises to monitor Morsi 24/7, the report says.

13:33 GMT: At least two people were killed in Egypt early on Sunday in clashes between supporters and opponents of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, a security source told AFP. The deaths came in two separate incidents, one in the Suez Canal city of Port Said where 28 people also reportedly sustained injuries, and the other in the town of Kafr el-Zayat in northern Egypt. 

13:35 GMT: Tahrir Square partially opened to traffic Sunday afternoon, improving congestion in downtown Cairo, MENA reports. Work resumed at the Mugamma, an administrative building in Tahrir Square, and many people massed to the building.

13:24 GMT: The US embassy in Cairo was closed to the public on Sunday due to the unrest in the Egyptian capital.

“US citizens should avoid areas where large gatherings may occur,” the statement on the embassy’s official website said. “Even demonstrations or events intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence.”

The US diplomats also urged their countryman to monitor local news reports and to plan their activities accordingly.

Saturday, July 27

20:56 GMT:  US Secretary of State John Kerry said that Egyptian forces must respect the rights of peaceful demonstrators.

"At this critical juncture, it is essential that the security forces and the interim government respect the right of peaceful protest, including the ongoing sit-in demonstrations," Kerry said in a statement. "This is a pivotal moment for Egypt."

The comment was made after scores of protesters were killed in the country’s newly escalated violence.

18:02 GMT: More than 80 people have been detained in Alexandria for violating private and public property during clashes, police said. Many of the arrested were among those trapped in a mosque overnight, according to a local human rights group.

17:20 GMT: Egypt's health ministry has registered that 74 people have been killed in clashes, 65 of those in Cairo and a further nine in Alexandria, Reuters reports.

16:26 GMT: Fresh crowds are amassing in downtown Cairo.

15:53 GMT:

MB spokesman Ahmed Aref: "We condemn the reluctance and silence of political parties in the face of this massacre"

— Sharif Kouddous (@sharifkouddous) July 27, 2013

15:20 GMT:A Pro-Morsi march has reached Nahda Square at Cairo University, where another group of Morsi supporters are holding a sit in.

15:15 GMT: Pro- Morsi supporters have stormed Al-Azhar University campus after clashing with residents of Duweiqa and Mansheya using rocks and empty bottles. Clashes erupted when residents of the area formed popular committees to inspect the protesters. Morsi supporters stood on the campus roof and threw rocks at the residents, who withdrew to where security forces were stationed on Nasr Road. Cars were torched in the violence and security forces had to intervene to control the scene. 

Field hospital doctor estimate that at least 50 have been killed, with as many as 100 dead after Rabaa sit-in clashes #egypt

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 27, 2013

15:14 GMT: According to a fresh Ministry of Health statement, 46 people were killed during Friday overnight clashes, 38 of them in Cairo, another eight in Alexandria. In total, there are 708 casualties reported.

14:03 GMT:

Watched the medics scrub blood off the room floor where they stacked up the bodies.Medics told me most Rabaa wounds to head, neck and chest

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 27, 2013

12:27 GMT: 14 police officers and 37 conscripts were injured with birdshot and live fire during the rallies and protests on Friday and early Saturday, the Interior Ministry said. Two of the injured received shots in the head and are in critical condition, according to the statement.

12:02 GMT: At least 46 people were killed in the protests in Cairo on Saturday morning, the Egyptian Health Ministry has confirmed to RT’s Arabic sister channel, Rossiya Al-Yaum.

11:41 GMT: "God willing" pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo will be "dealt with soon" based on a decision by the prosecutor, said Egypt's Interior Minister in a statement.

11:30 GMT: Deposed president Mohamed Morsi is likely to be transferred to the same prison as Hosni Mubarak, says Egypt's interim Interior Minister Mohamed Inbrahim.

11:02 GMT: Egypt’s Interior Ministry blames the Muslim Brotherhood for the overnight violence in Cairo, reports AFP.

10:41 GMT:  

RT @Aaron_T_Rose Clashes continue on Nasr Rd. to #Rabaa. Stones only. A car burns. pic.twitter.com/lMs2e0EMQ0

— The Daily News Egypt (@DailyNewsEgypt) July 27, 2013

10:40 GMT: The Egyptian Interior Ministry has confirmed that security forces used tear gas to disperse pro-Morsi supporters.

10:34 GMT: Clashes have left at least 29 people dead and hundreds injured in Cairo after security forces attacked supporters of ousted President Morsi, says Egypt's Health Ministry. However, the Muslim Brotherhood puts the death toll at over 200 with 1,000 injured.

"They are not shooting to wound, they are shooting to kill," Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad said to Reuters, adding that demonstrators had been hit by gunshot in the head and chest.

00:00 GMT: RT's Bel Trew reporting from Cairo says the situation is very tense, as the police begins slowly inching toward the sit-ins to clear them.

"Neither side is appearing to back down... more clashes are expected."

Friday, July 26

23:44 GMT: According to Al-Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal, "stream of injured people" being taken from October 6 Bridge to a field hospital.

23:10 GMT: The country's Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim was quoted as saying on the state-run al Ahram website that the Cairo sit-ins and protests staged by Morsi supporters will be "brought to an end soon and in a legal manner."

He cited complaints from the area's residents.

22:18 GMT: Egyptian authorities declare a state of emergency in some parts of Cairo - according to Al Arabiya - while police have reportedly fired teargas to disperse Islamist protesters at the 6th October Bridge.

19:10 GMT: Five people have been killed and at least 86 others wounded in rival clashes in Alexandria, Al Arabiya reported.

18:40 GMT: The two rival political camps are holding demonstrations in Areesh city in Sinai. According to police, unknown assailants have attacked two checkpoints and a police station with rocket-propelled grenades in Sheikh Zuwaid, northern Sinai, Al-Jazeera reported. The number of casualties is not yet clear.

17:05 GMT:

Al Jazeera's Arabic channel is being intermittently jammed in Egypt.

— AJELive (@AJELive) July 26, 2013

Bridge to #Tahrir full of people pic.twitter.com/BXHUUk8Ms9

— Quentin Sommerville (@sommervillebbc) July 26, 2013

16:44 GMT: Egypt's military has denied that it intends to launch a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters. Army spokesperson Ahmed Mohamed Ali said that the false allegations are part of a campaign to spark unrest and tarnish the army's reputation, Ahram Online reported. He noted that the call to “combat violence and terrorism” does not threaten any political faction, but urges to “press ahead with the revolution's journey."

16:23 GMT: At least 2 people have been killed in Alexandria clashes, reports MENA news agency.

16:01 GMT: 

The general message from the #hegaz march. #Egyptpic.twitter.com/3EvmHFuG6b

— Joel Gulhane (@jgulhane) July 26, 2013

15:49 GMT: At least 24 people have been injured across Egypt so far, says Khaled Khatib, head of the Central Administration for Critical and Urgent Care at the Health Ministry. The latest reports come from the town of  Shubra, where 10 demonstrators suffered bruises, fractures and birdshot wounds, while eight others were wounded in Damietta.

15:37 GMT: Dozens of Morsi supporters stormed the International Garden in Nasr City, local media report. The protesters said they wanted to set up tents there.

15:29 GMT: At least 15 people sustained injuries in fighting between pro- and anti- Morsi demonstrators in the city of Alexandria, reports state news agency Mena. Medics said that most of the cases were a result of bird shots and wounds from sharp objects.

15:25 GMT: Thousands of protesters have gathered at Tahrir Square in response to calls by General Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to rally in support of the new military-backed government.

15:06 GMT:

Protester kisses heavily armed policeman on #Tahrir as people chant "the army, the police and the people are 1 hand" pic.twitter.com/yHukDaglP3

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 26, 2013

15:05 GMT: More anti-Morsi protesters are reportedly flocking to Tahrir Square in Cairo.

Protesters were just singing : "This night there will be no more Muslim Brotherhood"

— Halim حليم (@HaleemElsharani) July 26, 2013

Protesters got on one of the police vehicles securing the march pic.twitter.com/uHopyBPIyR

— Halim حليم (@HaleemElsharani) July 26, 2013

14:55 GMT: Police have reportedly fired tear gas near Qaed Ibrahim Mosque in Alexandria.

Thugs with fire and police with gas attacking #ProDemocracy#Morsi in #Alexandria#Egypt#Military_Coup

— Mohamed Hassan (@Mohamedhp) July 26, 2013

14:50 GMT: Seven people were injured in clashes between supporters and opponents of ousted President Morsi in Al-Raml station in Alexandria, Al-Jazeera reports. The two camps were reported to have been throwing rocks at each other. Four of the injured left the hospital, while three are still receiving treatment.

14:31 GMT: A video of a pro-Morsi rally in Matrouh Governorate in the north-western part of the country.

14:20 GMT: At least 50 ambulances have been reported to be on call in Monufia governorate, north of Cairo, in case possible clashes between protesters result in injuries, a medic from the Ministry Of Health said, as cited by Mena news agency.

14:09 GMT: Two marches comprising hundreds of supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi arrived at mosques for prayers. The marches arrived at al-Rahman al-Raheem mosque on Salah Salem Street and Al-Rashdan mosque in Cairo's Nasr City, Al-Masry Al-Youm news agency reports. Protesters chanted slogans carrying photos of Morsi and Egyptian and black Islamist flags. Morsi supporters gathered at Rabea al-Adaweya mosque nearby, joining the sit-in, which has set up camp there for almost a month.

13:57 GMT:

There’s something burning under 6 October Bridge. Sounds like there is a fight in a neighborhood nearby. March moving pic.twitter.com/nEMbLBgTjK

— Basil الضبع (@basildabh) July 26, 2013

13:52 GMT: Clashes between Brotherhood supporters and opponents have been reported to take place in Alexandria, as cited by Al-Arabiya news agency.

13:49 GMT:

As the day goes on, helicopters are getting lower. This one at Itehadyia where pro-Sisi crowd is gathering. pic.twitter.com/cGqf2hUIYN

— Quentin Sommerville (@sommervillebbc) July 26, 2013

Interesting. There are signs against both Morsi and Sisi. #egypt#SphinxSqpic.twitter.com/NBLHNqJVA6

— Cliff Cheney (@cliffcheney) July 26, 2013

13:40 GMT: Twenty-four people have been injured in Cairo and Damietta in clashes between supporters and opponents of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, said Health Ministry sources as cited by Al-Jazeera.

13:35 GMT:

Military helicopters circling above Tahrir, looks like senior police guys are here posing for pictures for people

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 26, 2013

13:31 GMT: The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva has called on the Egyptian army to respect the international human rights law. “People have a right to make peaceful protests,” said spokesman Rupert Colville. “All measures taken by the authorities must fully respect the law and international human rights standards. We will be closely following how the situation develops.”

13:20 GMT: Opponents of ousted President Mohamed Morsi are gathering at Arbaeen Square in the seaport city of Suez to participate in “No to Terrorism” rallies called for by the country’s armed forces chief General Abdel Al-Sisi, MENA news agency reports.

13:08 GMT:

#AntiCoup rally in Qae'd Ibrahim Mosque in #Alexandria#ProDemocracy#Military_Coup#Egyptpic.twitter.com/lLZvliKrQK

— Gehad El-Haddad (@gelhaddad) July 26, 2013

12:51 GMT: 11 people have been injured in clashes between Morsi sympathizers and military supporters in the Shubra district of Cairo, security sources have reported.

12:41 GMT:

Pro- Morsi march on Ahmed Helmy getting very mixed reactions from bystanders in cars and observers from apartment windows.

— Basil الضبع (@basildabh) July 26, 2013

12:00 GMT: Thousands have gathered for a pro-Morsi rally in Cairo, as can be estimated looking at the aerial footage of the event.  Clashes between Morsi supporters and opponents have broken out in the Shubra neighborhood of Cairo.

08:20 GMT: An arrest order was issued for ousted Egyptian President

Mohamed Morsi will be questioned over allegations Hamas helped orchestrate his escape from prison in 2011, reported Reuters, citing MENA state agency. The toppled leader has reportedly already been "confronted with the evidence."  

Among things Morsi’s being accused of are killing officers and prisoners, and kidnapping soldiers.

Thursday, July 25

20:10 GMT: The Egyptian army said in a statement posted on its Facebook page that it would not "turn its guns against its people, but it will turn them against black violence and terrorism which has no religion or nation.” The statement was made ahead of protests scheduled to take place on Friday.

19:10 GMT: The White House “has urged the security forces to exercise maximum restraint and caution," said spokesman Josh Earnest, adding that Egypt’s army should do its utmost to prevent clashes between rival protesters. Earnest noted that the US was concerned about "any rhetoric that inflames tension,” referring to a speech made by Egyptian army chief General Abdel Al-Sisi, during which he called on Egyptians to take to the streets to show their support.

19:00 GMT: Egypt's army gave the Muslim Brotherhood party until Saturday afternoon to sign up to political reconciliation, a military official said, after the army issued a warning to use a tougher strategy to fight "violence and terrorism.”

"We will not initiate any move, but will definitely react harshly against any calls for violence or black terrorism from Brotherhood leaders or their supporters. We pledge to protect peaceful protesters regardless of their affiliation," the official said.

Monday, July 22

18:10 GMT: Undisclosed Al Jazeera sources reported that at least four people have been killed in the violence.

17:17 GMT: A 15 year old child died after being shot in the chest during separate clashes which took place in Qaliubiya province, north of Cairo, according to Al-Ahram's Arabic news website. The medical official used as a source by the news outlet said that a further three had been injured in the unrest: two were hit by a train while fleeing the gunfire and one hit by birdshot.

16:09 GMT: One has been killed and seven injured in the clashes at Tahrir Square, according to state television.

15:20 GMT: Further violence has erupted in Cairo's Tahrir Square as pro-Morsi supporters and anti-Morsi protesters entered into clashes, lobbing stones at one another as security forces fired tear gas in an attempt to dispel the unrest. Pro-Morsi supporters had reportedly attempted to storm the square after participating in a sit-in at the US embassy just blocks away from the anti-Morsi protest at the square.

Saturday, July 20

18:37 GMT:Egypt's interim Prime Minister, Hazem el Beblawi has urged all political forces in the country to resume dialogue, after the violence that followed the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi. "Now I see we have to return to harmony. Divisions cannot last," Beblawi said on state television. The biggest supporter of the ousted president, the Muslim Brotherhood, is continuing its protests demanding his reinstatement and said it will not enter into any dialogue until he is restored to power.

Friday, July 19

22:45 GMT: Supporters of the deposed president Morsi have attacked video journalist of Al-Masry Al-Youm, a privately-owned Egyptian news outlet, during her coverage of rallies in Cairo's Nasr City district, the newspaper said in a statement. 

Protesters were breaking windows of a vehicle while Menna Alaa was shooting the incident, when one of the vandals slapped her across the face and another took her camera. 

"I was just beaten up by Ikhwan [Muslim Brotherhood] protesters, camera taken as well," Alaa said on Twitter. "I am fine. A smack on my face and a stolen camera won’t stop me.”

22:31 GMT:

Supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi are demonstrating en masse nationwide, demanding his reinstatement. Hundreds of thousands have flooded the streets of several dozen Egyptian cities on Friday with a tense standoff continuing long after midnight.

RT spoke with political activist for human rights Sarah Elsayed, who while not being a supporter of Morsi, says the military coup was not constitutional. The West is not doing enough to support “democracy” in Egypt, she said, as the US still has not called Morsi’s ousting a coup.

22:20 GMT: 

Hundreds of thousands in #Alexandria#AntiCoup rallies now. More photos in link. #Egypthttps://t.co/CYOv8zluJ1pic.twitter.com/P2ij6o9aF9

— Gehad El-Haddad (@gelhaddad) July 19, 2013

22:02 GMT: 

#AntiCoup protestors standing on #Army tanks in front of #MediaProductionCity#Egypt#SaveEgypt #كسر_الإنقلابpic.twitter.com/UrQbjnLlU9

— NusaibaHamsawiyyah (@NusaibaTheReal) July 19, 2013

21:57 GMT:

"#AntiCoup protesters place #Morsi's pic on APCs.Many protesters mounting APCs & preventing them from moving. pic.twitter.com/d9alil5dLE" #Egypt

— নৈঃশব্দ (@noishobdo) July 19, 2013

20:54 GMT: Senior Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist politicians have been transferred to a maximum security prison, an unnamed security source told MENA. They claim the move to Akrab Prison, south of Cairo, was done as a precautionary measure as maintenance work is being conducted in Tora Prison, where the detainees had previously been held.

Those relocated included the Bortherhood number-two Khairat El-Shater, Freedom and Justice Party head Saad El-Katatni, and the 7th General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood Mahdi Akef. The men stand accused of a number of charges including "inciting violence, funding violent acts, and thuggery." Akrab Prison is notorious for housing political activists as well as jihadists or other militant Islamists.

19:47 GMT:The Egyptian military has fired tear gas at pro-Morsi protesters near the presidential palace in a bid to stop the crowd from reaching anti-Morsi rallies taking place nearby, MENA reported. Scuffles followed as protesters continued to break the army lines. The army responded by firing more tear gas to disperse the pro-Morsi gathering.

Wednesday, July 17

19:03 GMT: Egypt’s interim President Adly Mansour has sworn in a new cabinet, with the ceremony broadcast live on state television.  The new government is led by Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi and deputy Prime Minister General Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, who was promoted from Defense Minister though retained his defense portfolio. The latter took part in the overthrow of former President Mohamed Morsi on July 3.

Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim, a member of Morsi’s government, remained in his post. Nabil Fahmy, Egypt’s ambassador to the US from 1999-2008, was appointed foreign minister. Three women were assigned to the ministries of information, health and environment. Past cabinets have had at most two women in them. Midfielder Taher Abu Zeid, a popular Egyptian football player, was named youth minister.

The appointed cabinet does not include members from Islamist parties, who boycotted the election.

17:42 GMT: The European Union offered no proposal that could resolve Egypt's political crisis, said Muslim Brotherhood leader Amr Darrag following a meeting in Brussels.

"We are not expecting support from anybody. We are relying only on ourselves," he said after EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met with Muslim Brotherhood leaders, as well as Morsi's prime minister, Hisham Kandil.

15:53 GMT: Egypt's finance minister, Ahmed Galal, said on Wednesday that an IMF loan was only "part of the solution" to the country's problems and the new transitional government would have to draw up a plan that would start to fix the troubled economy.

12:07 GMT:  Egypt’s military council has appointed former Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzuri to form a new cabinet. Having headed the Egyptian government in 1996-1999 and in 2011-2012, 80-year-old al-Ganzuri is considered to be one of the most experienced national economists. In 2012 the Muslim Brotherhood offered him a position in government. Al-Ganzuri had previously said in an interview with ITAR-TASS news agency that this is not the right time for a return to politics.

10:43 GMT: Egypt’s interim government has begun working despite fierce protests from the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of recently deposed president Mohamed Morsi. Protesters shouting "God is Greatest!" and "Down with military rule!" gathered at a rally outside government buildings in central Cairo. Many in attendance were holding up Korans and portraits of the ousted president, demanding Morsi be restored to power. The crisis in Egypt risks broader regional destabilization, threatening the country’s peace treaty with Israel and uninterrupted access to the Suez Canal, a crucial transit route for oil and other goods destined for the EU. The EU's foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton is expected in Cairo to meet with Egypt's interim rulers.

Tuesday, July 16

16:40 GMT: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has denounced the new cabinet as "illegitimate".

"It's an illegitimate government, an illegitimate prime minister, an illegitimate cabinet. We don't recognise anyone in it. We don't even recognise their authority as representatives of the government," Reuters quoted Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad as saying.

16:30 GMT: Egypt's interim president has sworn in a new Cabinet, the first since the ouster of the Islamist president by the military nearly two weeks ago. The new interim government is led by Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi, an economist, and Deputy Prime Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, former Defense Minister, who ousted Mohammed Morsi on July 3. The Morsi-appointed interior minister, Mohammed Ibrahim, remains in his post, in charge of the police. Egypt's ambassador to the US from 1999-2008, Nabil Fahmy has been sworn in as Foreign Minister.

06:21 GMT: Seven people were killed and 261 wounded as supporters of Mohamed Morsi clashed with opponents of the former president and security forces in Cairo overnight. Two people were killed on a bridge and five more in the capital's Giza district, Reuters reported. Violence erupted when Pro-Morsi demonstrators tried to block a vital thoroughfare that runs through the center of Cairo. Gas canisters were reportedly fired into a throng of protesters who chanted "peaceful, peaceful" and "the police are thugs."Police allegedly responded after the mob started throwing rocks and molotov cocktails at security forces.

Monday, July 15

16:09 GMT: The Egyptian army warned protesters on Monday that it would react with the “utmost severity and firmness and force” if they try to approach or break into military bases. Thousands of Morsi’s Islamist supporters took part in demonstrations on Monday, demanding his return to office

15:41 GMT: The public prosecutor of Egypt has ordered to arrest seven senior Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist figures on Monday over the violence which emerged between the supporters and opponents of the toppled President Mohamed Morsi. The list includes leading Brotherhood figures Essam El-Erian and Mohamed El-Beltagi, who are charged with "inciting violence, funding violent acts and thuggery".

00:32 GMT: At least three people have been killed and 17 others wounded after suspected militants fired rocket-propelled grenades into a bus carrying workers from a cement factory in Egypt’s North Sinai province, authorities said. The attack happened in the city of El Arish, located in a region bordering Israel and the Gaza Strip.

The volatile area has been increasingly marred by Islamist violence since Mohamed Morsi’s overthrow by the military on July 3. At least 13 people have been killed in stepped up attacks on security checkpoints and other targets since the former leader was ousted from office. Attacks first began intensifying in the area after the 2011 removal of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

Sunday, July 14 

17:00 GMT: RT's Bel Trew in Cairo anticipates further Muslim Brotherhood protests in Cairo tomorrow, saying that people fear another surge in violence.

“The Muslim Brotherhood... will not move from their sit in at a mosque in central Cairo and the University of Cairo until [Morsi] is reinstated. They’ve actually called for escalation tomorrow against the military- which people are fearing may turn violent as they have altercations either with the security forces or with local residents or people who oppose the Muslim Brotherhood – there’s a lot of anti- Muslim Brotherhood sentiment now here in Egypt following the toppling of Morsi, so expect tomorrow to be an interesting day," she said. 

16:17 GMT:  U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns will visit Egypt next week to meet leading politicians and civil society representatives.

"In all these meetings, he will underscore U.S. support for the Egyptian people, an end to all violence, and a transition leading to an inclusive, democratically elected civilian government," said an official statement.

15:37 GMT: US marines at NATO bases in Spain and Italy have been placed on high alert, in case they have to be rapidly transferred to Egypt, Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency reports, citing diplomatic sources. Among possible missions is the extraction of US citizens from the country. 

Last week US moved two large vessels, USS Kearsarge and USS San Antonio, from the Indian Ocean to the Egyptian Red Sea coast, as a precaution. US officials said the fast-response vessels, carrying marines, were needed as they "did not know what was going to happen".

15:35 GMT: Kuwait has sent two tankers carrying more than $200 million worth of oil and diesel to Egypt, Kuwaiti media report. The fuel is part of a $12 billion emergency aid package agreed by Gulf states last week.

15:11 GMT: Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose intervention played a key role in the toppling of Morsi, has released a statement insisting that generals will not decide the fate of Egypt's political system, or bar any parties from participating in public life.

“The armed forces understand that they are in the service of the people and not in control of them. The army does not enforce anything upon them,” said al-Sisi.

Al-Sisi has also stated that he privately proposed that Morsi conduct a referendum on whether an early election was necessary days before the protests that swept him from power, but that he was categorically rebuffed by the then-president.

15:05 GMT: Egypt's chief prosecutor has frozen the assets of 14 leading Islamist leaders - including Muslim Brotherhood members - pending an investigation.

11:50 GMT: Egyptian liberal leader Mohamed ElBaradei has been sworn in as Egypt's interim vice president for foreign relations, according to a presidential statement.  ElBaradei is a former head of the UN nuclear watchdog and Nobel peace laureate, and former head of the National Salvation Front leftist-liberal coalition. His initial nomination was rejected by Al-Nur, an ultra-conservative Salafist party.

09:00 GMT: Leftist politician Godah Abdel Khalek said on Sunday he turned down an offer to return to the post of minister of supply in Egypt's interim government.

Two sources in Egypt's transitional administration had earlier said Interim Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi, who stepped in after the military ousted President Mohamed Morsi, would ask Abdel Khalek to serve in the post.

"I was offered the post by Beblawi, but I declined for personal reasons," Khalek told Reuters over the phone.

Khalek had held the post before for a few months in 2011.

Saturday, July 13

21:54 GMT: As Egypt struggles to recover from severe political and economic crisis, interim Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi has named two more key ministerial candidates. Beblwai will ask leftist politician Godah Abdel Khalik to serve as supplies minister and invite Christian liberal politician Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour to head the Investment Ministry, two sources in the transitional administration told Reuters on Saturday.

19:38 GMT: Egypt’s foreign minister, Mohamed Kamel Amr, has confirmed that he won’t be occupying the same position in Hazem el-Beblawi’s interim government. According state news agency MENA, Arm believes that the “upcoming stage after June 30 would require new leadership for the ministry.” Egypt’s former ambassador to the US, Nabil Fahmy, is named as the top candidate to snatch the foreign minister’s position in the new government. El-Beblawi has promised to make the announcement next week.

16:45 GMT: Hany Kadri who oversaw talks with the International Monetary Fund regarding a halted rescue package last year will be asked to act as Egypt's finance minister, according to two government sources who spoke to Reuters on Saturday.

The post of foreign minister in the temporary cabinet will be former ambassador to the United States Nabil Fahmy, while the country's former interior minister, Ahmed Gamal el-Din will be offered the post of deputy prime minister responsible for security. Former planning minister Ashraf al-Araby will be offered his previous post.

None have accepted their positions yet, and the decisions have not been finalized.

16:10 GMT: It has been announced that Egypt's new interim cabinet will consist of 30 ministers and is to be sworn in this coming Wednesday.

13:20 GMT: Egyptian prosecutors have begun investigating ousted President Morsi, saying they have received complaints of over spying, inciting killings of protesters and damaging the economy. The prosecutor's office said in a statement that it was investigating in order to prepare a file for questioning.

08:00 GMT: Thousands of supporters of Egypt's deposed President Mohammed Morsi, who has been in detention after being removed from office by the military more than a week ago, marched through Cairo, demanding his reinstatement. The protests continued into the early hours of Saturday with no reports of violence.

Large crowds of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood supporters descended on the capital waving flags and chanting slogans in favor of Morsi.

Hundreds of demonstrators were standing behind barbed wire near the Ministry of Defence, shouting at soldiers standing a few dozen meters away, Reuters reported.

"I am here to say 'no' to the military coup and 'yes' to Morsi, who I see as my legitimate president, although I am not in the Brotherhood and nor did I vote for him," 22-year-old student Ahmed Adel  said.

Friday, July 12

23:04 GMT: The US State Department has announced it concurs with the German Foreign Ministry’s call for Egypt’s interim government to release deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, who has been forcefully held at an undisclosed location since his removal. 

“We do agree,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters Friday after officials dodged the question last week.

13:15 GMT: Crowds are reportedly already gathering in NASR, a Cairo suburb, as supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi plan demonstrations in Egypt on Friday. Egyptians have prayed that there will be no repeat of the violence last week that has killed more than 90 people.

Pro and anti Morsi activists have called for rival rallies on the first Friday of Ramadan. The Muslim Brotherhood, the influential Islamist group from which Morsi emerged, has vowed to keep protesting until he is reinstated, but their ability to successfully mobilize and organize remains in doubt as most of the Brotherhood's leadership has been detained by the army.

10:24 GMT: Egypt’s interim President Adly Mansour will contact potential candidates for a cabinet reshuffle next week. He is in the process of assembling an interim government with a view to creating a “road map” to civilian rule.

10:15 GMT: The German Foreign Ministry has called on Egypt to protect against violence aimed at the Muslim Brotherhood and remove the restrictions on former President Mohamed Morsi.

"All forms of political persecution would be extremely damaging for the future of Egypt. We call for an end to the restrictions on Mr Mursi, and we also urge all political powers, in particular the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, to refrain from all forms of violence or threat of violence," a ministry spokesman said.

10:01 GMT: Leftist group, the National Salvation Front (NSF), has urged Egyptian young people to rally in front of the presidential palace in Cairo on Friday to “protect the achievements of 30 June.”

Thursday, July 11

19:55 GMT: In its most critical official evaluation of the Egyptian military’s actions during the takeover to date, the US State Department said that politically motivated arrests in Egypt make it difficult to see how the country will be able to move beyond its current political crisis.

“The arrests we have seen over the past several days targeting specific groups are not in line with the national reconciliation that the interim government and the military say they are pursuing,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a daily briefing.

“If politicized arrests and detentions continue, it is hard to see how Egypt will move beyond this crisis,” she added.

11:35 GMT: Egypt’s interim government lauded the United States for its show of “understanding" by charactering the rule of ousted President Mohamed Morsi as undemocratic.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty said the US comments "reflect understanding and realization ... about the political developments that Egypt is witnessing in the recent days, as embodying the will of the millions of Egyptians who took to the streets starting on June 30 to ask for their legitimate rights and call for early elections," Reuters cites him as saying.

Abdelatty statement follows comments by State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, who said “Morsi’s government "wasn't a democratic rule ... What I mean is what we've been referencing about the 22 million people who have been out there voicing their views and making clear that democracy is not just about simply winning the vote at the ballot box".

Psaki’s characterization of the Morsi government reflects an apparent reversal in US policy, although several prominent US lawmakers have called for a cessation of US aid to Egypt following the former Egyptian president’s ouster.

01:13 GMT: The delivery of four F-16 fighter jets to Egypt’s armed forces will go through as planned, US officials told Reuters.

"There is no current change in the plan to deliver F-16s to the Egyptian military," a second U.S. official said on condition of anonymity.

Delivery of the aircraft is expected in August, despite the fact that the administration and members of Congress with some clout over foreign aid have indicated that a “review” of US assistance to the country is in order.

Some members of Congress have moved to halt US foreign aid to Egypt, which gives Cairo $1.5 billion per year. Around $1.3 billion of the funds is received by the country’s armed forces. Israel is the only country in the world that receives more funding from the US government than Egypt does.

On Friday, Senator John McCain - a member of the Foreign Relations Committee - pushed for a temporary suspension of aid following the Egyptian military’s ouster of President Mohamed Morsi.

“We cannot stand by without acting in cases where freely elected governments are unseated by the military arm of those nations,” McCain said.

00:25 GMT: US aid to Egypt is to be reviewed following an order from President Obama, according to a statement released by the Pentagon on Wednesday.

"Given the events of last week, the President has directed relevant departments and agencies to review our assistance to the government of Egypt," the statement read.

The White House indicated earlier this week that US assistance to Egypt, military or otherwise, would most likely not change in the immediate future.

“I think it would not be in the best interest of the United States to immediately change our assistance programs to Egypt,” White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters on Monday. 

Wednesday, July 10

22:07 GMT: A car belonging to a senior Egyptian military commander “came under heavy fire” in the Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday. The incident led to “clashes between security forces and the terrorist elements,” a spokesman told AFP. The commander was not hurt, but a nearby girl was hit by the gunfire and later died. The incident is the latest to take place in the Sinai Peninsula, where attacks have been “targeting the army and police in recent days with the aim of sowing chaos and harming the stability and national security of Egypt.”

20:35 GMT: Egypt’s transitional cabinet is expected to be formed early next week, the country’s interim Prime Minister, Hazem el-Beblawi, told Reuters on Wednesday.

"The talks are still ongoing with different candidates and I expect we will finalize the formation of the cabinet by early next week," el-Beblawi said, although he has yet to pick a finance minister.

El-Beblawi, the country’s former finance minister, took up his post as PM on Tuesday. He has been tasked with leading the military-sponsored transitional government following the army's ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi last week, which took place amid nationwide protests.

19:19 GMT: Egypt's state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper has sacked its chairman, Mamdouh El-Wali, along with two editors of its daily and evening newspapers, MENA agency reports.  The three were appointed to their posts by the Shura Council during Morsi’s presidency.

18:18 GMT: Senior adviser to the Muslim Brotherhood Gehad El-Haddad insists the ouster of the Egypt’s leadership was nothing short of a military coup.   

“One year on into Egypt’s newly-born democracy – and there is a military coup. It is exactly the same cycle that happened in 1956. Yet, the rest of the world is as hypocritical as it was then and the leaders are too shy to use the word ‘coup’ even though we are seeing military junta on TV, political prisoners [in jails] and parties being closed down,”  he told RT.

El-Haddad admits that the previous government made mistakes just like “every government does,” but stressed that such mistakes were not cause for a military coup.  

“This is the 21st century. Political scenes are governed by politicians by democratic means. If you want to bring down a government, you should go to the ballot box,” he said.

18:14 GMT:

Pro #Morsi demonstrators marching from #Rabaa al Adawiya mosque towards #presidential palace in 2 hrs

— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) July 10, 2013

17:40 GMT: Washington says it will take time to determine whether the military's removal of Morsi constituted a coup, and called on the military to exercise restraint.

“We are evaluating how the authorities are responding to and handling the current situation,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters, as quoted by Reuters.

17:20 GMT: Fitch Ratings has downgraded National Bank of Egypt (NBE), its wholly-owned subsidiary the National Bank of Egypt (UK) Ltd's (NBEUK), and the Commercial International Bank's (CIB) long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) from 'B' to 'B-', said the agency in a statement.

The agency added that the outlooks are negative, meaning that it could cut the rating again in the near future.  

Fitch explained that the actions come due to the “likely impact of the heightened political uncertainty on the operating environment in Egypt and hence on the banks' performance and asset quality."

17:03 GMT: Despite the military-backed overthrow of Morsi, the US still plans to deliver four more F-16 fighter jets to Egypt in the coming weeks, American defense officials told Reuters.

“There is no current change in the plan to deliver F-16s to the Egyptian military," an unnamed official said.

15:48 GMT: Kuwait will provide $4 billion in aid to Egypt, according to the country’s KUNA state news agency. The package is said to be comprised of a $2 billion central bank deposit, a $1 billion grant and $1 billion in oil products.

11:12 GMT: Egyptian public prosecutor has ordered the arrest of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie and other top leaders of the movement for inciting violent clashes outside the Republican Guard headquarters which left at least 51 dead and hundreds injured, reports MENA agency.

A spokesman for the Islamic movement said that none of the leaders have so far been arrested. In his view, the charges against them are an attempt to break up an ongoing vigil calling for the reinstatement of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.

#Badie expected to be "hiding" inside #Rabaa al-#Adawiya mosque - how will police enter? Thousands of #Muslim#Brotherhood supporters there

— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) July 10, 2013

10:23 GMT: Amnesty International says it has evidence that the Egyptian security forces used “excessive force” against Morsi supporters during clashes on Monday where at least 51 protesters were killed. Many of those killed and injured had been shot in the head and upper body with shotgun pellets and live ammunition, the rights group said in a statement.

“Even if some protesters used violence, the response was disproportionate and led to the loss of life and injury among peaceful protesters,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, the rights group’s deputy regional head. 

The rights watchdog urged the authorities to stop “the use of grossly disproportionate force” by police and the military. 

Amnesty International also said its fears of further bloodshed in Egypt “are heightened by statements by Muslim Brotherhood leaders vowing to continue protesting until the former President is reinstated.”

6:20 GMT: The Muslim Brotherhood does not intend to join the new Egyptian government, according to the movement’s political branch spokesman Mohamed Soudane, cited by France 24.  The comment comes the day the newly-appointed Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi was expected to begin talks on forming his cabinet.

Tuesday, July 9

23:55 GMT: At least two Egyptians were killed and six others wounded after Islamist militants attacked an Egyptian security forces checkpoint in the restive North Sinai governorate late on Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing security sources. The militants fired rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns at the checkpoint in the remote village of Sadr El-Heytan, located in the center of the province.

This comes shortly after a police base was attacked by militants in the town of Rafah, on the Israeli border. The assailants shelled the Central Security Forces base with mortar rounds and fired heavy machine guns in an ongoing attack, AFP reported. There were immediate reports of casualties there.

21:12 GMT: Egypt’s interim prime minister, economist and former finance minister Hazem el-Beblawi, will offer cabinet positions to members of the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as to members of the hardline Islamist Nour Party, state media reported. "There is no objection at all to including members of those two parties in the government," state news agency MENA quoted a presidential spokesman as saying.

On Tuesday the country’s interim president Adly Mansour appointed el-Beblawi, along with a vice president, the liberal opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei. The decision to offer the Brotherhood a role in the interim government is likely aimed as a conciliatory effort following the rejection of the newest appointments by the army of the group’s Freedom and Justice party.

19:52 GMT: The Egyptian foreign ministry has summoned the Turkish ambassador to Cairo over "Ankara's interference in Egyptian domestic affairs" following Turkey’s description of the the Egyptian army's overthrow of President Morsi as an "unacceptable coup", state news agency MENA reports.

18:17 GMT: The US called Egypt’s plan to hold government elections in six months "a positive sign." White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said that the White House is "cautiously encouraged" and urges all parties to be included in the electoral process.

16:45 GMT: Police have arrested 23 people for blocking railway tracks in the city of Minya, about 250 km south of Cairo, state news agency MENA reports. Head of security in Minya, Major General Ahmed Suleiman,  received a notification from Maghagha police station that 500 people from Islamist movements were blocking the train tracks. Security forces then broke up the protest and trains resumed their normal operations.

16:21 GMT: Egypt’s army has warned against any attempt to disrupt the country during the current political situation. Army chief Abdel Fatah al-Sisi said that  “the future of the nation is too important and sacred for maneuvers or hindrance, whatever the justifications,” state TV reports.

16:12 GMT: Interim president Adly Mansour has issued a constitutional declaration which will be effective until the end of the transitional period and will meet the will of the people, Egyptian armed forces said in a statement,Ahram online reports.

The declaration states that the transitional period is due to last for at least six months, ending with the presidential elections due next year. Parliamentary elections are to take place before the presidential elections. The declaration is to be annulled after an amended version of the suspended constitution is passed.

The declaration consists of 33 articles which state that the interim President holds legislative authorities. He also has the power to approve state policy and budget, and to declare a state of emergency after the approval of the Cabinet. According to the charter, the Cabinet - which has yet to be formed - has a mandatory consultative role during the transitional period.

16:00 GMT: Saudi Arabia approved a $5 billion aid package to Egypt which includes a $2 billion central bank deposit, $2 billion in energy products, and $1 billion in cash, Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf said, as quoted by Reuters.

14:35 GMT: Egypt's president Adly Mansour has appointed former Finance Minister Hazem El-Beblawi as interim Prime Minister, MENA reported. El-Beblawi, is a former economist and a politician who has served in different positions, including as deputy prime minster, briefly in 2011. Mansour also appointed a liberal opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed El Baradei as vice president in charge of foreign affairs. 

14:10 GMT: Four Turkish journalists were detained by Egyptian soldiers in Cairo while reporting on unrest in the country. The detained include the reporter Murat Uslu and cameraman Zafer Karakas, both of whom work for the privately owned Turkish channel Star TV. Fatih Er and Tufan Guzelgun, two journalists for A Haber, were also detained, Hurriyet reports.

“The Turkish Embassy in Cairo has contacted Egypt’s Foreign Ministry and military authorities. We want them to be freed immediately,” Nazlı Öztarhan, news coordinator for Star TV, wrote via Twitter.

The Turkish Press Council has appealed to the Foreign Ministry for the release of two journalists.

Can Ertuna, a reporter for NTV news channel who is currently in Cairo, said Uslu and Karakas’s passports were confiscated, and their Egyptian hosts were released after briefly being detained. It was further reported that Er and Guzelgun were detained because they did not have accreditation from the press center or press cards.

13:55 GMT: Egyptian authorities are questioning 650 people in connection with clashes outside the army headquarters in Cairo, which left 55 people dead and more than 430 injured. The suspects are accused of crimes including murder, "thuggery," carrying firearms and explosives without licenses, compromising public security for "terrorist purposes," and blocking roads, according to state news agency MENA.

12:42 GMT: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has agreed to give Egypt $1 billion and lend it another $2 billion, an Egyptian source close to the talks told Reuters. The money was expected to be part of a larger financial package from the UAE. The interest rate and the maturity of the loan – that would be in the form of a deposit in Egypt’s Central Bank – had yet to be finalized, the source added. Additionally, Saudi Arabia was expected to lend $2 billion to Egypt, which the source expected to be confirmed within two days.

10:15 GMT: Russia says Egypt should strive to stabilize the situation and “transfer it to a political process, which should allow to transparently and comprehensively prepare and hold free and fair elections,” according to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

“We are very closely watching what is happening in Egypt and support any efforts, which are aimed at ending any manifestations of violence and confrontation and at stabilizing the situation,” he said at a joint media conference with his Romanian counterpart.

Currently, the region “lacks the main leading role of Egypt as the largest Arab country and generally recognized leader of the Arab League,” Lavrov observed. “Unfortunately, the Egyptian authorities, being busy with internal problems, objectively cannot pay the attention to the regional problems that these issues deserve,” he added.

9:13 GMT: The United Arab Emirates’ Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, has arrived in Egypt for a state visit. Zayed will meet with Egypt’s president and minister of defense and has pledged to "show full support to the people of Egypt - political support, economic support."

9:07 GMT: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has rejected a timetable for elections proposed by interim leader Adly Mansour. The plan calls for a parliamentary vote in six months after amendments to the constitution are approved in a referendum.

Sunday, July 7

23:11 GMT: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has condemned the reported killing of over 50 anti-Morsi protesters in Cairo, urging both sides to “do everything to avoid further escalation” of violence which has intensified since the former president’s ouster.  

Ban’s spokesman issued a statement, saying the UN chief was “deeply disturbed” by the bloody early Monday clashes outside the capital’s Republican Guard headquarters. He has offered his condolences to the families of the victims.

“The Secretary-General condemns these killings and calls for them to be thoroughly investigated by independent and competent national bodies, and those responsible need to be brought to justice,” read the statement.

21:56 GMT: Egypt is to vote on a new parliament in six months, followed by a presidential election after the legislative chamber first convenes.

20:37 GMT: Egypt's former finance minister Samir Radwan has emerged as the leading candidate for the post of interim prime minister, top political sources said. 

Radwan said he has not yet been formally offered the post.

This is the latest step in interim Head of State Adly Mansour's efforts to form a temporary government to bring the country out of political chaos and towards new elections, just five days after former President Mohammed Morsi's ouster.

19:45 GMT: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has called for further protests on Tuesday after the deaths of 51 pro-Morsi supporters on Monday who were hit by a stream of bullets as they rallied outside the Republican Guard compound. Morsi supporters blame the military while the army said it was responding to an attack on its soldiers.

"In protest against the military coup that was followed by suppressive actions, topped by the Republican Guard massacre that took place at dawn, we call on all citizens and honourable people to protest on Tuesday across Egypt," a spokesperson for the Muslim Brotherhood-led coalition, Hatem Azam, told a news conference on Monday.

Pro #Morsi legitimacy coalition calling mass protests tomorrow for the "martyrs" #Egypt

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 8, 2013

“They started firing gasses and bullets and …the problem was that there were many children, men and women. Children couldn’t breathe, five of them died…many people fell to the ground, and even when they fell to the ground, they started firing them," eyewitness Rafaat Mostafa, whose account was not fully verifiable, told RT.

“The army say that the armed groups of supporters of Morsi had attacked them Military helicopters continue to circle the area and there are army deployed around the streets surrounding the sit-in, including armored vehicles ….it’s extremely tense here,” RT's Bel Trew said from a medical center near the Republican Guard HQ in Cairo.

19:30 GMT: Health ministry figures state that 51 were killed and 435 injured in Monday's violence and didn't include women or children.

18:15 GMT: Pro-Morsi protesters are wielding blood-soaked flags at a rally taking place in front of the Republican Guard Headquarters.

#Morsi supporter holds blood stained flag at sit-in in front of republican guard HQ #Egyptpic.twitter.com/WNzbT9CBEr

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 8, 2013

17:40 GMT:  The White House has publicly called for the interim authorities in Egypt to avoid reprisals, arrests, and restrictions on media, announcing that they are concerned about escalating political polarization in the country,  White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Monday. The US has also stated that it is reviewing whether the change in Egypt constituted a coup, that their primary objective is to promote a return to democracy in the country, and that it is not in its best interests to cut off aid to Egypt. The US gives $1.5 billion to the country every year.

15:45 GMT: Al Jazeera journalists were booted out of a news conference being held by the Egyptian military on the killing of some 54 people, predominantly supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi, outside an an army facility. Al Jazeera is a Qatar-based organization, founded by the country's ruling family - strong allies of Morsi. The station had broadcasted some graphic images of those killed and wounded. One journalist demanded the expulsion of Al Jazeera reporters from proceedings, and they eventually left amid chanting.

14:38 GMT: Egypt’s spokesmen said two policemen and one army officer were killed after the Republican Guard’s Cairo headquarters came under "heavy gunfire" from supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi on Monday, AP reports. Army Col. Ahmed Mohammed Ali added that another 42 troops were injured, with 8 in critical condition.

RT's Bel Trew in Cairo reported that doctors at the morgue said 54 had died, "mostly from bullets or asphyxiation." Forensic reports she glanced cited live ammunition shot through the back as the cause of death.

#June30 Front press statement sent 4 hours ago makes no reference to the clashes or the 50+ dead and bashes the Brotherhood. Bit odd. #Egypt

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 8, 2013

Speaking from a medical center in Cairo, trew said that the first injuries that were admitted had been shot. “The bullet wounds came in from the back and through the abdomen” later, people were admitted with skin-deep wounds from what seemed to be birdshot.

“I think it’s a huge caliber – maybe 3.6” one on-site doctor told RT, contemplating the bullet wounds.

14:06 GMT: The death toll related to violence at the Cairo headquarters of the Republican Guard on Monday rose to 51 people, with 435 more wounded, Reuters cited the head of Egypt's emergency services, Mohamed Sultan, as saying.

14:20 GMT: Egypt's top Muslim cleric, Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb, announced that he’s going into seclusion until the violence ends, as a show of protest to both sides involved in the Cairo clashes, AP reports.

The head of Al-Azhar Mosque said he had "no choice" but to seclude himself at home "until everyone shoulders his responsibility to stop the bloodshed instead of dragging the country into civil war."

11:45 GMT: Egypt’s interim president will form a judicial committee to investigate what happened at the Republican Guard HQ in Cairo, Reuters quoted state news agency as saying. Egyptian prosecutors have ordered the closure of the Muslim Brotherhood HQ after weapons were found inside. 

11:15 GMT: The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party called on Egyptians to rise up against the army after deadly clashes.

11:03 GMT: Egypt’s Health Ministry confirmed that women and children were among the 42 killed overnight in Cairo. 

Speaker at MB presser: "We are revolutionaries. We are peaceful. And we will never surrender until the end." #Egypt

— Shadi Hamid (@shadihamid) July 8, 2013

11:02 GMT: Most of the injured received shots to their faces or backs, doctor from Rabba Field Hospital said.

11:00 GMT: Rabba Field Hospital received 400 casualties in the first three hours conference, doctor confirmed at Muslim Brotherhood’s press conference: 150 shooting injuries, 200 other types of injuries involving rubber bullets, and about 100 tear gas injuries. The hospital did not have enough medical supplies to help all the injured.

10:20 GMT: Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie said that the army chief wanted to drive the country to the same fate as Syria, Reuters reported. 

Army statement on #Cairo shootings says it has video and photographic evidence of 'attack'

— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) July 8, 2013

09:50 GMT: Egyptian prosecutor orders the closure of Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party HQ in Cairo after police found weapons inside the facility on Monday, AFP quotes a security official.

@OmarKamel sit-in doctors say 46 dead, including around 5 children. Official is 42.

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 8, 2013

09:45 GMT: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has condemned violence in Cairo, adding that the incident was a "massacre".

09:25 GMT: Egypt is in “dire need” of reconciliation, country’s liberal politician El Baradei said while condemning all violence.

08:40 GMT: Eyewitnesses report more gunfire near sit-in protests in Nasr City.

08:45 GMT: Morsi supporters have reportedly kidnapped two Egyptian soldiers in Cairo. Both managed to escape their captors, AFP reported.  

08:40 GMT: There are conflicting reports as to what started the clashes with eyewitnesses saying that were fired on and army insisting they were attacked. 

08:00 GMT: 42 protesters have been killed in the clashes, Egypt’s state TV reported. 

Army has surrounded Rabaa sit-in, shooting into air & blocking entrance. @Alastair_Beach I inside by barricades separating mil & protesters.

— Louisa Loveluck (@leloveluck) July 8, 2013

07:45 GMT: Following the night of deadly clashes Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood called for an uprising against those who try to “steal the revolution with tanks”, Reuters quoted the organization as saying.

07:28 GMT: As protests continue, army has reportedly been shooting into the air, as crowds of demonstrators tried to make it to the sit-in protests by Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in Nasr City.

Army pushing forward towards sit-in by rabaa el-adawiya mosque shooting a lot. Mostly in air. Automatic gunfire.I'm trying to get in #egypt

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 8, 2013

07:15 GMT: Egypt’s Health Ministry said 35 people were killed in Cairo clashes overnight. 

07:00 GMT: Former Egyptian presidential candidate Aboul Fottoh calls on interim president Adly Mansour to resign.

06:40 GMT:37 Morsi supporters were killed, including children, Cairo-based journalist Bel Trew quoted Muslim Brotherhood as saying. 

Brotherhood just told me 37 dead including children, army say one soldier dead on my way to republican HQ to try &verify anything #egypt

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 8, 2013

06:25 GMT: Gunmen killed at least 5 Morsi supporters when a group tried to storm a military building in Cairo, Egyptian military said. 

The rupture holes in bonnets and roofs suggest fire came directly from soldiers still standing on top of the building

— Alastair Beach (@Alastair_Beach) July 8, 2013

06:05 GMT: Egyptian army and police began firing at sit-in protesters by the Republican Guard building in Cairo around 3:30 am local time, Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad told Al Jazeera. 

pic.twitter.com/zXTnmD6OJ7

— Gehad El-Haddad (@gelhaddad) July 8, 2013

05:59 GMT: Reportedly ambulances blocked from entering Nasr City square.

Photo MT @AnEyeonEgypt: Some detained by military & police forces after the attack on #RepGuard. #Egyptpic.twitter.com/znLY4k6uVZ

— Lucy Kafanov (@LucyKafanov) July 8, 2013

05:50 GMT: The dead and injured are being transferred to a makeshift hospital in Nasr city, RT’s Paula Slier reported. 

pic.twitter.com/cRk9l9cIi4

— Gehad El-Haddad (@gelhaddad) July 8, 2013

05:27 GMT: 200 people were arrested after a “terrorist group” tried to storm Republican Guard facility, local radio quotes Egyptian army as saying. One officer was killed and several wounded during the attack. 

Emergency staff report that majority of injured have gunshot wounds to the head

— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) July 8, 2013

05:25 GMT: Al-Nour Party announced it will withdraw from political process and halt dealings with Egypt’s interim president. 

05:05 GMT: 34 supporters killed and 500 injured after police disperse Cairo protests, Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson said.

Protestors still trapped at #RepGuard HQ & some r taking refuge at nearby mosque. #Police_State#Military_Coup#Egypt

— Gehad El-Haddad (@gelhaddad) July 8, 2013

04:53 GMT: 34 Muslim Brotherhood’s supporters killed after police dispersed pro-Morsi protests in Cairo – organization’s spokesperson confirmed. Toll had not been immediately verified. 

Muslim Brotherhood MP El-Beltagy on Cairo clashes: What we saw today was the massacre of mankind while performing dawn prayers

— AJELive (@AJELive) July 8, 2013

04:40 GMT: At the same time other unconfirmed reports say that up to 35 people dead and 140 injured, citing Rabba Field Hospital. 

04:13 GMT: Freedom and Justice Party has confirmed 16 people have been killed and 400 injured.

04:02 GMT: Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad says hundreds of critically wounded are being taken to hospitals

03:34 GMT:

Confirmed until now 16 deads more than 400 injured #RepGuard#Egypt#Military_Coup

— Mohamed Adel Elkholy (@kholy14) July 8, 2013

02:44 GMT:  Locals on the ground say no warning shots fired before the security forces attacked. Ambulances are at the scene.

Wounds r all over bodies. Ambulances going back&forth. No warning shots or announcements at all. Egyptian media blackout as usual.

— Gehad El-Haddad (@gelhaddad) July 8, 2013

02:43 GMT: Police have reportedly used tear gas and fired shots on civilian protesters outside the Cairo republican guard compound where the deposed president is being held. 

Saturday, July 6

22:44 GMT:

A packed #Tahrir celebrates end of #Morsi regime with fireworks and lasers #Egyptpic.twitter.com/UrcxsVzNos

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 7, 2013

20:31 GMT: Egyptian presidential spokesman sees political support for Bahaa el-Din as interim Prime Minister and El-Baradei as deputy president, Reuters reports.

"The main goal is to achieve a national consensus from all parties, and I think that it was achieved," said the spokesman.

Earlier when contacted by Ahram, El-Din told the agency that "a decision was neither final nor official"

The new potential PM is a lawyer studied at Oxford University. He was the head of Egypt's investment authority under Hosni Mubarak's rule but resigned from the post

The Nour Party, the country’s second biggest Islamic bloc after Muslim Brotherhood said they would accept the new nomination, after previously rejecting ElBaradei’s candidacy.

"He is one of the liberal figures that we greatly respect," Nour deputy head Bassam El-Zarka was quoted as saying in an interview with Egyptian channel Al-Hayat.

17:45 GMT: The court in Cairo has acquitted eleven leading Egyptian activists on trial for inciting violence during the protests against the ousted President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, the state agency MENA reported. The arrest of the activists had been regarded as ‘an attempt by the Brotherhood to silence its critics’, the lawyer of one of the activists told MENA. Since Morsi’s ouster, the Egyptian authorities have arrested prominent Brotherhood members and shut down several pro-Brotherhood television stations.

16:05 GMT: Thousands of supporters of the toppled President Morsi have gathered outside his place of detention in Cairo, as the military-driven plan to end the crisis in the country has yet to return calm to the streets. The pro-Morsi demonstrators promise not to leave until the deposed president returns.

15:10 GMT: Egypt's ambassador to Washington Mohamed Tawfik has said there has not been a military coup, but the army had to intervene to prevent street violence from spiraling out of control.

"Egypt has not undergone a military coup. And it is certainly not run by the military," Tawfik told ABC's "This Week", adding that military stepped in to oust the President after Morsi’s response to massive street protests with inciting violence among his supporters instead of starting the dialogue “with more than 15 million people in the streets.”

"If you start inciting your followers to violence, if you start whipping up religious fervor, if you start talking about jihad, about martyrdom, then many, many people are going to lose their lives," he said. "And that is against the law."

Tawfik, who was himself appointed by the deposed president in September, said Morsi had not acted as president for all Egyptians.

"My advice to the Muslim Brotherhood is they need to acknowledge the mistakes that they made and they need to join the process," the ambassador said. "There is no room for violence."

13:00 GMT: Qatar-owned media company Al Jazeera has reported that Egyptian security forces had raided their offices. However, a Reuters cameraman stationed nearby said that he saw no sign of the alleged raid. A spokesperson for the channel in Doha said that its Cairo bureau chief was taken in for questioning on Sunday and was later released, but was not aware of any raid.

11:45 GMT:  Egypt is mobilizing for further protests as Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood calls for a rejection of what it deems to be a military coup. Opponents of the ousted Islamist leader are also urging people to take to the streets, renewing fears of street violence just two days after clashes between the conflicting camps left 36 people dead and more than 1,000 wounded.

"Syria is already in the grips of the civil war ... and Egypt is moving in the same direction," Russian President Vladimir Putin told state news agency RIA Novosti. 

10:55 GMT: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Egypt risked slipping into civil war following the military overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi.

"Syria is already in the grips of a civil war ... and Egypt is moving in the same direction," Putin told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti during a visit to Kazakhstan's capital Astana.

09:00 GMT: A pipeline in the Sinai Peninsula which supplies gas to Jordan has been blown up, according to state TV. The subsequent fire was under control by Sunday morning. The pipeline has been attacked more than 10 times since 2011. Four security checkpoints also fell under attack on Saturday. It is unclear who was responsible.

00:15 GMT: President Obama has condemned the ongoing violence in Egypt and warned of “continued political polarization.” Speaking with members of his National Security Council via conference call, Obama “reiterated that the United States is not aligned with, and does not support, any particular Egyptian political party or group,” according to a White House statement. “The United States categorically rejects the false claims propagated by some in Egypt that we are working with specific political parties or movements to dictate how Egypt’s transition should proceed,” it said.

Friday, July 5

22:06 GMT: Earlier Nour Party, Egypt's second biggest Islamist group objected to the nomination of El Baradei as country’s new interim prime minister and called for further protests on Sunday.

"The nomination of ElBaradei violates the roadmap that the political and national powers had agreed on with General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi," deputy leader Ahmed Khalil told Al Ahram.

Presidential presser now. opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei is not Prime Minister, rumour is Salafist Nour Party blocked it #Egypt

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 6, 2013

22:00 GMT: Opposition politician Mohamed El Baradei has not been appointed as Egypt’s interim Prime Minister.

Muslim Brotherhood can take part in new elections Egypt's presidency spokesperson said. The spokesman says that several options remain for the role of the interim Prime Minister as the presidency must take into account all opinions, state TV is reporting.

"We extend our hand to everyone, everyone is a part of this nation," the spokesman told reporters. "The Muslim Brotherhood has plenty of opportunities to run for all elections including the coming presidential elections or the ones to follow," Reuters cites the spokesman as saying.

18:33 GMT: Egypt-born but Qatar-based cleric Youssef al-Qaradawi has issued a fatwa – a religious edict – criticizing Mohamed Morsi’s ousting. The 86-year-old theologian, who is a long-standing associate of the Muslim Brotherhood, said the army-backed protests went against the constitution and democracy. The popular scholar, who has previously issued a fatwa sanctioning the killing of Muammar Gaddafi and dismissed the Holocaust as a “punishment” for Jews, is known for his controversial statments.

17:19 GMT: Violent clashes between the opponents and supporters of the ousted president Mohamed Morsi have resumed on Sunday afternoon in several provincial towns outside Egypt’s capital, Cairo.

20 pro-Morsi demonstrators and Muslim Brotherhood members were arrested by the police in the town of Sohag after a reported attempt to storm the local governor's office. Dozens more were detained after street fighting erupted in Luxor, Assiut, Kafr Al-Sheikh and Damanhour, with the men accused of assaulting police and army personnel, inciting violence and illegal possession of firearms.

16:41 GMT: Egypt's new interim leader, Adli Mansour, has held talks with the army chief and political leaders on how to pull the country out of crisis as the death toll from Islamist protests rose to 36 people.

Mansour, whose main task is to oversee a roadmap to elections, has met armed forces chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who announced Mursi's ouster on Wednesday. He was also negotiating with a leading liberal and favorite to claim the prime minister’s seat, Mohamed ElBaradei, who was the UN nuclear agency chief from 1997-2009, as well as other politicians, who had opposed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.

13:00 GMT: A Muslim Brotherhood strongman Khairat el-Shater was arrested on Friday alongside his brother, according to an Interior Ministry spokesman . Both were held under suspicion of inciting violence against protesters in recent days. El-Shater is a wealthy businessman and the deputy of the Brotherhood's supreme leader, and considered of vital importance in the Brotherhood's decision making.

12:45 GMT: A Coptic Christian priest has been killed by gunmen in the northern Sinai town of el-Arish. Militants on a motorbike shot the 39 year old dead on Saturday, according to security sources.

12:00 GMT: The number killed across Egypt over the course of pro- and anti-Morsi clashes stands at 36, according to the deputy head of the national ambulance service, Mohammed Sultan.

11:30 GMT: Egypt's interim leader, Adly Mansour, is entering a meeting with members of the 'Tamarod' (rebel) campaign, according to an Al Arabiya correspondent.

10:10 GMT: Egypt’s interim president is meeting with the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Interior at the presidential palace, Al Arabiya reported.

08:45 GMT: Thirty people were killed and 1,138 were injured in overnight clashes across Egypt, state TV quoted health officials as saying. Most of the deaths were recorded in Alexandria (14), Cairo (9) and North Sinai (4).

07:45 GMT: The Egyptian military has blocked roads leading to the Defense Ministry, Al Arabiya reports.

Interim president moving to presidential palace today we expect Adly Mansour to announce his cabinet, including Prime Minister soon #egypt

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 6, 2013

06:35 GMT: Reports of gunshots in Cairo as Islamists vow more protests are forthcoming following a day of deadly clashes.

Thursday, July 4

23:53 GMT: At least 30 people died across Egypt in clashes between pro- and anti-Morsi protesters on Friday, Reuters reports.

22:25 GMT: At least 12 people have been killed in violent clashes in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, Reuters reports citing local medical official Amr Nasr, head of city’s emergency services. He also told MENA that around 200 have been injured. Most of the fatalities were from gunshot wounds, he added.

22:19 GMT: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood's deputy leader Khairat el-Shater has been arrested by military authorities, state news agency MENA reports. Top Egyptian Islamist was arrested at his apartment in Cairo and taken into custody on suspicion of incitement to violence, according to security sources.

21:58 GMT:

#BreakingNews Clashes between #Egypt security forces and the Brotherhood continue in #Alexandria

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) July 5, 2013

21:50 GMT: Three hours of street fighting in central Cairo have eased after the army deployed troops and vehicles, to keep rival sides apart, Reuters reports. In total three people killed, 199 injured after Brotherhood’s attack on Oct 6th bridge, Al Arabiya says citing Egypt's ambulance service.

21:30 GMT: Army officials have confiscated cameras from a CNN news crew in Cairo, although one CCN journalist on site confirmed via Twitter that they are safe and “sipping tea” while awaiting the return of their footage and equipment.

Cnn crew in Cairo fine. Sipping tea by the Nile, enjoying the evening cool, waiting for Army officer to return our camera. #Egypt#30June

— benwedeman (@bencnn) July 5, 2013

21:21 GMT: The top human rights official at the United Nations, Navi Pillay, has expressed concern over the reported detention of Muslim Brotherhood leaders and called on Egypt’s military authorities to make clear the basis on which they are being held or release them.

“There should be no more violence, no arbitrary detention, no illegal acts of retribution,” Pillay said in a statement released at the commission’s headquarters in Geneva.

“We don’t really know the details and what the basis of these detentions is,” Pillay’s spokesman Rupert Colville also said in a reference to the fate of the ousted President Mohamed Morsi and other Muslim Brotherhood leaders. “If you detain or arrest someone there needs to be, according to the law, a very good reason to do so. There needs to be due process.”

20:55 GMT: Egypt's army has denied curfews have been imposed in two North Sinai towns on the border with Israel and the Gaza Strip, Reuters reports.   

"Nothing has been issued," an army spokesman told Reuters when asked about the report on state television that curfews had been imposed in the towns of Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah.

20:52 GMT: The 54-member African Union (AU) has suspended Egypt from all activities until the country restores order following the overthrow of President Morsi. This is an ordinary decision for the AU when a member-state’s constitution is in flux.

"As mandated by the relevant AU instruments, the African Union Peace and Security Council decides to suspend the participation of Egypt in AU activities until the restoration of constitutional order," Admore Kambudzi, Secretary of the Peace and Security Council of AU, said after a meeting on Friday.

20:47 GMT: US Representative Ed Royce (R-CA), the chairman of the influential House Foreign Affairs Committee, along with Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY), the committee’s ranking member, released a joint statement on Friday responding to the ongoing military transition of power in Egypt, including the implicit acceptance of Morsi's ouster.

"It is now up to the Egyptian military to demonstrate that the new transitional government can and will govern in a transparent manner and work to return the country to democratic rule.  We are encouraged that a broad cross-section of Egyptians will gather to rewrite the constitution, read the statement, while also criticizing Morsi’s term in power has failing to embrace inclusiveness and compromise, and instead consolidating power and rule 'by fiat.'"

20:34 GMT: Seventeen people have been killed in violence across Egypt on Friday, state television quoted the Health ministry, Reuters reports.

20:20 GMT:

Just drove under gunfire under gamaa bridge - hats off to taxi driver, he's got some balls #egypt

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 5, 2013

20:19 GMT:

Keep hearing bursts of gunfire, on gamaa bridge, can't get on bridge or closer, carrying so much equipment I can't run #egypt

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 5, 2013

20:09 GMT: A curfew has been introduced in two northern Sinai towns after continued clashes, Egyptian state TV has reported. The curfew is now imposed on the towns of Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah. No other details were given, according to Reuters.

18:40 GMT: Egypt's chief prosecutor has ordered the release of two leading Brotherhood figures, who were arrested on Thursday, MENA news agency reports. The men are Saad El-Katatni, head of the Brotherhood's political wing and former parliament speaker, and Rashad al-Bayoumi, a deputy leader in the movement. They will, however, remain under investigation on charges of inciting violence.

18:00 GMT: Reports of clashes and gunfire in the Tahrir Square area are intensifying as protesters have been making their way across the 6th October bridge towards the square.

One person has been shot dead of pro-Morsi supporters; exchange of gun fire still going on below; #Tahrir#Egypt#Jun30

— Yousef Gamal El-Din (@youseftv) July 5, 2013

17:20 GMT: Pro-Morsi crowds are heading to Tahrir Square, with some unconfirmed reports of clashes near Tahrir emerging. Anti-Morsi protesters had previously occupied the square.

Pro-Morsi protesters have block road in front of the state TV building.

@TahrirBodyguard and #OpAntiSH have left #tahrir due to safety concerns. Everyone, especially women, be advised its very unsafe at moment

— Sheera Frenkel (@sheeraf) July 5, 2013

16:30 GMT: Badie is speaking of his pride in Morsi's leadership and the strength of the Brotherhood.

Military helicopters were flying very low overhead as he declared "our bare chests are stronger than bullets," while instructing the army not to "shoot their fellow citizens".

Badie has vowed to continue the protests and will not leave Egypt's squares until President Morsi is restored to full power "otherwise its our lives." He has said he is ready to reach an understanding with the army providing — and only after — they meet this request.

"We will not leave Egypt and we shall not sell the blood of our martyrs!" he said. "Demonstrators are stronger than tanks!"

16:20 GMT: The Muslim Brotherhood's Supreme Leader, Mohammed Badie, is to speak at a pro-Morsi rally shortly. He was freed from detention on Thursday, according to some reports.

16:00 GMT: The Muslim brotherhood announced that it would not cooperate with Egypt’s “raped” government, saying that it calls on its allies to do the same. Issam al-Aryani made the comments in front of a crowd in Cairo. He also  told supporters to continue protesting and “stay in the squares,”according to Al Arabiya.

15:45 GMT: Egyptian armed forces declared on Friday that they would not permit acts of revenge between rival factions to take place ahead of further rallies planned by Morsi supporters. The announcement also forbade assaults of party offices and public properties.

The armed forces advised against “falling into an endless circle of revenge,” on Facebook, saying it was eager to steer clear of any arbitrary measures against a faction or political movement.

15:10 GMT: The interim head of state, Adly Mansour, has dissolved the Shura, the upper-house of Egypt's Islamist-led Parliament and appointed a new head of intelligence.

Only the Shura remained after the lower house was dissolved by military-led authorities a year ago. The Shura does not usually legislate but had taken up the role following the dissolution.

General Mohammed al-Tahami is now chief of operations, replacing Morsi-appointed Mohamed Raafat Shehata, according to state TV, which reported the constitutional decree.

13:25 GMT: The director of Al Jazeera's Egypt service has been set free.

Prosecutors release Director of Al Jazeera's #Egypt service AJMisr, Ayman Gaballah, on 10,000 EGP (1,400$) bail

— Rawya Rageh (@RawyaRageh) July 5, 2013

12:50 GMT: 

Warning shots fired in the air by #Egypt#army as pro-Morsi crowd gathers in front of Republican Guard HQ on Salah Salem. #Cairo

— Ed Giles (@edgiles) July 5, 2013

#Morsi supporters at cairo rally furious islamist TV stations cut: "This is the freedom Al-Sisi and Elbaradei gave us" #egypt

— Sarah Lynch (@sarahbethlynch) July 5, 2013

12:40 GMT: Morsi supporters have been attempting to break into a police building in the capital, according to local press. His backers flocked to the center of Cairo, with several activists heading for the University of Cairo as well as the headquarters of the presidential guard. Thousands have gathered at Rabaa Adaweya mosque, displaying visible upset at the police.

One man said, "We will only leave this square if our president returns to the palace, or we go to our God in heaven." #Cairo#Egypt#Morsi

— Holly Pickett (@hollypickett) July 5, 2013

12:30 GMT: Egypt's newly reinstated prosecutor general has resigned. Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud, who was reinstated after Morsi's overthrow released a statement saying his actions were necessary to “avoid the embarrassment of making judicial decisions against those who removed me from office.”

On Thursday, Egyptian police arrested Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie, according to AFP, “at the request of the prosecution for inciting the killing of protesters,” an official told the agency.

Authorities have been rounding up group members, with a judicial source commenting that the prosecution would begin questioning members on Monday for “insulting the judiciary.”

#MB lawyer Mostafa Demeiry says Supreme Guide Mohammed Badei not in custody, would like to turn himself in but not sure to whom #Egypt

— Rawya Rageh (@RawyaRageh) July 5, 2013

12:10 GMT: Morsi's supporters have gathered on the streets of Cairo. Protesters are assembling in the Nasr city district according to RT's Paula Slier, with some 100 000 pro-Morsi protestors surrounding the outside of Raba al Adawia mosque.

#Protestors chanting down with #Sisi#Cairo

— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) July 5, 2013

12:00 GMT: Egypt’s army has stated that a state of emergency is not in  place for either Suez or South Sinai provinces, contrary to earlier reports. However, the army in Sinai is “on alert.”

11:45 GMT: Egypt has been suspended from the African Union (AU) following the ousting of former President Mohamed Morsi, according to a senior official.

“As mandated by the relevant AU instruments, the African Union Peace and Security Council decides to suspend the participation of Egypt in AU activities until the restoration of constitutional order,” Secretary of the Peace and Security Council told Reuters following a meeting.

Suspension is considered the standard response to any interruption of constitutional rule by one of the AU’s member states. In March the AU suspended the Central African Republic after its government was ousted by rebels. It has also treated Madagascar and Mali in a similar fashion. However, Mali’s suspension was later lifted.

11:30 GMT: Egypt's temporary president, Adly Mansour, has issued a decree appointing a constitutional adviser and a political adviser. Judge Aly Aoud Saleh is to take up the first role and Judge Mostafa Hegazy the second, according to Ahram online.

11:15 GMT: Egypt’s army announced a state of emergency in both South Sinai and Suez after an airport in El Arish was attacked by armed Islamist gunmen on Friday.

The assailants opened fire on three military checkpoints outside the airport, aiming rocket-propelled grenades at the high-security areas. El Arish airport is close to the border with the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Local newspaper Al-Ahram reported that the “state of readiness” had been elevated to its highest level in the provinces. The attack marked the latest in a series of security problems in the region, two days after the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. It remains unclear whether the two were related.

08:40 GMT: Egypt has closed its Rafah crossing on the Egypt-Gaza border until"further notice,” Al Jazeera reported. Earlier, Islamist militants carried out multiple attacks on security forces in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, including rocket fire near a police station in Rafah, which killed one soldier and wounded two others.

01:45 GMT: At least one Egyptian Army soldier has been killed when Islamist gunmen launched four coordinated attacks on El Arish airport and three military checkpoints in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, state television reported.

The attackers reportedly fired rocket-propelled grenades at the army checkpoints outside the airport, which is close to the border with the Gaza Strip and Israel.

It was not immediately clear whether this latest attack in Egypt’s troubled region was in response to President Morsi’s ouster by the military on Wednesday

Wednesday, July 3

22:39 GMT: Egypt’s Army said it will not take any “exceptional or arbitrary measures” against any political group in a statement published on its Facebook page. Peaceful protests and freedom of expression are the “people’s right,” the statement stressed. Abuse of the right to protest could “threaten social peace,” it said.

20:22 GMT: Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr says he assured US Secretary of State John Kerry in a phone conversation that the overthrow of Morsi had not been a military coup, Reuters reports. The definition plays is significant since the military overthrow of an elected leader could trigger economic sanctions.

“I hope that they read the situation in the right way, that this is not a military coup in any way. This was actually the overwhelming will of the people,” he said.

16:50 GMT: Journalists have reportedly detained the editor-in-chief of Egypt’s Al-Ahram newspaper, demanding his resignation. That’s according to Aswat Masrya news website, siting a source from the daily. Salama was appointed to the post by the Morsi administration in August last year.

16:38 GMT: An Islamist coalition led by the Muslim Brotherhood urges Egyptians to take to streets across the nation in a "Friday of Rejection" of the “military coup” that ousted Morsi, Reuters reports.

The National Coalition in Support of Legitimacy calls on people “to mobilize peacefully" after Friday prayers.

16:20 GMT: Tens of thousands in Cairo’s Tahrir Square are celebrating the ouster of President Mohhamed Morsi, who was removed from power by the military on Wednesday night following mass anti-government protests.

16:15 GMT: Thousands of Morsi supporters continued to rally near the Rabaa Al-Adaweyah mosque in Nasr City, Cairo on Thursday. Demonstrators erected barricades, chanted “Morsi, God is Great,” held portraits of the overthrown leader and demanded his reinstatement in office.

15:45 GMT: Nine ministers from the Freedom and Justice Party, which is the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, have resigned in protest against Morsi’s ouster, reports RIA Novosti.

15:29 GMT: Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki stated the military overthrow of Morsi was unacceptable, and calls for Morsi's safety to be guaranteed, Reuters reports.

“We view what is happening in Egypt with concern - the arrests of journalists and politicians,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande – who is on a visit to Tunisia - declined to speak of a coup, saying merely that “the democratic process has stopped and must return”.

14:19 GMT: Tunisia’s ruling Ennahda party condemns “the military coup against the democratic process.”

“We view what the leadership of the army has done as a setback on the path of the Egyptian revolution and an attempt to reinstall the old regime,” the party’s statement reads, quotes Ahram daily.

“A military coup sends a dangerous message to the Arab peoples, it hampers the democratic transition and sows despair among the peoples of the region,” President Moncef Marzouki's party said.

14:04 GMT:

#Turkey's AK Party urges Morsi backers to defend votes http://t.co/HWPhxKiOP4#Egypt

— Abdullah Ayasun (@ABYASUN) July 4, 2013

13:53 GMT:

The road to Rabaa and the Muslim Brotherhood ... We'd better find another route. pic.twitter.com/R0MnOBmYjY

— Quentin Sommerville (@sommervillebbc) July 4, 2013

13:41 GMT: NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says he is “gravely concerned” by the situation in Egypt. During a media conference on Thursday, he urged “everyone to exercise restraint and refrain from violence, to respect human rights, including the rights of minorities, and the rule of law and to work to establish a democratic and inclusive civilian government as soon as possible."

13:40 GMT: Violent clashes between pro-Morsi supporters and police at Cairo University. Several people have been wounded, according to Naharnet. RT’s video agency Ruptly earlier reported shooting near RT’s bureau in Cairo, coming from the University area.

The Egyptian Army has moved into Nasr City, Cairo to block access leading to a pro-Morsi sit-in. Security is tight in order to protect protesters and avoid further clashes.

13:29 GMT: The Muslim Brotherhood's supreme leader Mohammed Badie has been arrested, reports AP citing Egyptian officials.

13:28 GMT: The Muslim Brotherhood will not work with any “usurper authorities,” says the group’s senior member Abdul Rahman al-Barr. “We call on protesters to show self-restraint and stay peaceful. We reject the oppressive, police state practices: killing, arrests, curbing media freedom and closing TV channels,” he said in a statement, as cited by Reuters. 

13:08 GMT: RT's video agency Ruptly reports a firefight near their RT office in Cairo. The bureau says the shooting comes from the Cairo University area, a scene of recent violence. No injuries have yet been reported.

12:56 GMT: An Egyptian judge says the former President Morsi and 15 others are being investigated over accusations of “insulting the judiciary,” and are subject to a travel ban, Reuters reports.

12:49 GMT: A leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed El-Beltagy says the group will not take up arms, but does not accept a “military regime,” Reuters reports. He believes the coup will push other groups to violence.

11:55 GMT: The head of Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights, Hossam al-Gheriany, has resigned from his post, reports the Egypt Independent daily. Gheriany – who took part in developing the now suspended constitution for the country – said “talking about human rights in Egypt is now in vain.” He is also a former president of the highest civil court in Egypt, the Cassation Court, and has advocated for years the separation of powers between the executive and judiciary.

11:47 GMT: Syria has praised Morsi’s ouster as a “great achievement,” Naharnet reports. 

“The Syrian people, leadership and army express their deep appreciation for the national, populist movement in Egypt which has yielded a great achievement,” an official source is cited as saying. He added that the overthrow of the Egyptian leader was “a radical reversal involving a firm will to maintain democracy”.

11:35 GMT: The Salafist movement in Egypt has called on people to “leave the squares and go to their mosques and homes,” Reuters cites. The religious group also urged “all sons of the Islamist movement” not to put themselves in danger and to understand the “reality of the change that is happening in the political situation.”

11:20 GMT: The African Union is likely to suspend Egypt from all its activities after Morsi’s overthrow and the suspension of the Egyptian constitution, a senior source in the group told Reuters. The AU’s Peace and Security Council is planning to hold a meeting on Friday to discuss the situation.

“The belief is that the doctrine will be applied, which is suspension for any country where an unconstitutional change has taken place,” the source said.

11:15 GMT: Qatar says it supports the will of the Egyptian people and considers the country a leader in the Arab and Islamic world, reported al Jazeera, citing a foreign ministry source.

Qatar’s new emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani congratulated interim Egyptian leader Adli Mansour on taking office, Reuters reports, citing official media in the Gulf state.

11:05 GMT: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called the army's ousting of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi "unacceptable" and labeled it a "military coup".

11:04 GMT: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s vacation has been interrupted by events in Egypt, as the PM is to a hold an urgent meeting in Istanbul, reports Hurriyet Daily.

10:05 GMT: Egyptian Prosecutor's office issues arrest warrants for top Muslim Brotherhood leader, Mohamed Badie, and his deputy, Khairat el-Shater, Reuters reports.

09:55 GMT: The UK has condemned the military coup in Egypt but will work with the country’s interim authorities. Foreign Secretary William Hague described it as “the practical reality of foreign policy."

"This is a military intervention in a democratic system. We have to understand it's a popular intervention, there's no doubt about that in the current state of opinion in Egypt," Hague told BBC.

09:40 GMT: Morsi and other top Muslim Brotherhood leaders have been placed in the same Cairo prison as Mubarak, according to local media reports.

09:30 GMT: Pro-Morsi rallies have been held in Turkey. Supporters of the overthrown Egyptian President gathered outside the Egyptian Embassy in Ankara and also in front of the Egyptian Consulate General in İstanbul to protest the military coup.

09:18 GMT: Head of Egypt's Constitutional Court Adli Mansour has been sworn in as the interim head of state under an army transition plan, Reuters reports.

"We are looking forward to hold the presidential and parliamentary elections," he said during the ceremony at the Constitutional Court in Cairo, saluting the armed forces and the people of Egypt.

Minutes before that Mansour was sworn in as head of the Supreme Constitutional Court.

08:50 GMT: The death toll from overnight clashes across Egypt between opponents and supporters of ousted President Morsi has risen to 32, according to Egyptian television station Nile TV, as cited by Reuters. 70 people were wounded in Fayoum, south of Cairo, after unidentified assailants broke into the local offices of the Freedom and Justice Party, the Brotherhood's political wing, according to MENA.

07:30 GMT: The situation in Egypt remains tense, according to RT’s Bel Trew, reporting from Cairo.

“Although we had moments of celebration, we also have this difficult situation where there are still supporters of Morsi and they are not going home and they are very angry,” Trew says.

04:24 GMT:

#Tahrir "clean up" to start tomorrow at 1pm - a la February 2011 protesters asked to bring bin bags &gloves https://t.co/UQENtxUxY7

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 4, 2013

03:16 GMT: There have been unconfirmed reports of attacks on Morsi’s supporters across the country.

A mosque in a Cairo suburb was said to have been shot at, Reuters reported, adding that by the time the agency's staff arrived an hour later the site was calm.

Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad said about 2,000 supporters were attacked shortly after 3am local time by men in plain clothes.

In Suez, unconfirmed reports state that army forces broke up a sit-in rally of Morsi supporters with tear gas. Earlier Ahram reported that twenty armored vehicles were deployed in the vicinity of a local mosque in Suez where Morsi's supporters were holding a rally.

01:57 GMT: Morsi is now reported to have been separated from other officials and taken to a Ministry of Defense facility, according to the Muslim Brotherhood.

01:53 GMT: Heba Morayef, the director of Human Rights Watch in Egypt, took to Twitter to call the reported arrests of Muslim Brotherhood leaders “irresponsible, illegal and destabilizing” comparing the ongoing situation with “dark Mubarak days.”

.@hebamorayef is once again the voice of reason - no one should call for, celebrate or endorse a witch hunt of the Brotherhood.

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 4, 2013

01:32 GMT: The death toll in clashes across Egypt that followed the army’s announcement of President Morsi’s ouster has risen to 14, according to state media and local officials.

Eight people, including two members of security forces, were reported dead in the northern city of Marsa Matrouh.

Three people were killed and at least 50 wounded in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria after gunfire broke and rocks were hurled in a row between Morsi’s opponents and supporters. Among the victims was a woman stabbed in the stomach, MENA said.

The unrest also claimed three lives, including those of two policemen, in the southern Egyptian city of Minya, and some 14 people were also injured in clashes.

Dozens more were wounded in Fayoum, south of Cairo, as unidentified assailants broke into and set on fire to the local offices of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party.

Human Rights Watch called on Egyptian authorities to take measures to stop sexual violence against women, which has seen a dramatic spike during the four days of protest leading up to Morsi’s ouster. At least 91 women were reportedly raped on Tahrir Square.

 “The rampant sexual attacks during the Tahrir Square protests highlight the failure of the government and all political parties to face up to the violence that women in Egypt experience on a daily basis in public spaces. These are serious crimes that are holding women back from participating fully in the public life of Egypt at a critical point in the country’s development,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

00:51 GMT: The European Union has urged Egypt to return to civilian rule and the restrain from the use of force. “I urge all sides to rapidly return to the democratic process, including the holding of free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections and the approval of a constitution,” EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement. “I strongly condemn all violent acts, offer my condolences to the families of the victims, and urge the security forces to do everything in their power to protect the lives and well-being of Egyptian citizens,” she added.

00:46 GMT: UN chief Ban Ki-Moon urged non-violence in Egypt and called on the people to stay calm and show restraint, also urging dialogue between the country's political factions.

00:04 GMT: Several sources confirmed that Egypt’s deposed president was being held by authorities at the republican guard residence, along with Essam El-Haddad, a senior aide. That information was corroborated by a Muslim Brotherhood spokesman, as well as a security official and a presidential aide who spoke with the AFP.

Pro- #Morsi sit in main stage, speaker tells them to take courage. Desolate atmosphere,leaders no where to be seen pic.twitter.com/aG2GTbPEUz

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 4, 2013

00:12 GMT: US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey had a phone conversation with the senior Egyptian commanders, an unnamed source has told AP.  The Egyptian side has allegedly assured Washington a civilian government will soon be running the country.

Tuesday, July 2

23:45 GMT: Rumors began spreading late Wednesday night into Thursday morning that Morsi was being held by the country's military authorities, but there has not been any confirmation from either side to the claim.

23:43 GMT: In a statement released by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the chairman of the budget committee for the state department and foreign assistance, the military’s ouster of Morsi is slammed, with the Senator warning that US aid to the country must be subsequently cut off. The US currently provides Egypt with some $1.5 billion in annual financial assistance, most of which is in the form of military aid.

“Egypt’s military leaders say they have no intent or desire to govern, and I hope they make good on their promise. In the meantime, our law is clear: US aid is cut off when a democratically elected government is deposed by military coup or decree.”

By contrast, President Obama’s statements on the Egyptian military’s actions also mentioned aid, but were more general in nature. The president said his administration was "concerned," and that there would be a review of aid given to the country.

Saudi Arabia's King congratulates #Egypt's caretaker president, says it comes at "critical" time - 1st message of congrats by Arab leader

— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) July 3, 2013

23:34 GMT: Egyptian security forces are continuing to arrest Muslim Brotherhood members who are "accused of inciting violence and disturbing general security and peace," state news agency MENA reported.

Meanwhile, it has come to light that all detained heads of religious TV channels have been released from custody after being detained Wednesday.

23:24 GMT: Egypt’s Minister of Health told state media that 10 people were killed and 343 injured Wednesday in clashes across 17 provinces.

23:14 GMT: Arrest warrants have been issued for 300 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Ahram reports.

#Cairo roads jammed with honking cars as celebrations continue

— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) July 3, 2013

23:02 GMT: US President Barack Obama on Wednesday called for Egypt’s military to “move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government.” In that statement, Obama also outlined the expectation that the military would “ensure that the rights of all Egyptian men and women are protected, including the right to peaceful assembly, due process, and free and fair trials.”

22:53 GMT: In the Mediterranean city of Alexandria MENA has reported one death and 50 wounded as rocks and bricks flew and gunfire broke out according to witnesses at the scene.

22:44 GMT: Egyptian officials who spoke to the Associated Press have confirmed that the head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party, Saad El-Katatni, as well as Muslim Brotherhood’s deputy chief, Khairet el Shater, had been arrested.

22:34 GMT: "Top islamists close to Morsi" are being arrested in Egypt, AFP reports.

22:27 GMT: The US ordered a mandatory evacuation of its embassy on Wednesday, and announced a travel advisory for all citizens.

The State Department advised Americans "to defer travel to Egypt and US citizens living in Egypt to depart at this time because of the continuing political and social unrest" and called for "the departure of non-emergency US government personnel and family members from Egypt due to the ongoing political and social unrest."

22:09 GMT: Al Jazeera’s Egyptian broadcast has been taken off the air. Both Reuters and Al Jazeera itself reported that security forces raided Cairo offices and detained at least five staff members.

Karim El-Assiuti has told Reuters his colleagues at the Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr channel were arrested while working at their studio. The station was prevented from broadcasting from a pro-Morsi rally, and a broadcasting crew was detained.

The Qatari-owned station has faced accusations from the Egyptian opposition of being sympathetic to Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood party.

#Tahrir Tonight, Amazing #Egyptpic.twitter.com/ErMgyk2BRX

— Anonymous (@Anonymous_wolrd) July 3, 2013

21:58 GMT: While mass celebrations are on Cairo and throughout Egypt, there have also been clashes between Morsi supporters and security forces in the northern city of Marsa Matrouh.

Governor Badr Tantawi has told Reuters that four people had been killed in that city so far, all thought to be Morsi supporters, while 13 had been injured.

At least one person was killed and 50 were wounded in Alexandria, state news agency MENA reported, quoting a local medical official. Islamist supporters of Morsi smashed shop windows in the city’s Miami district, and were preventing residents from celebrating Morsi’s removal.

21:22 GMT: Egyptian Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim has ordered to close all “religious channels,” which include the Salafi oriented Al-Nas and Al-Hafez channels, reports the Egypt Independent.

21:19 GMT: An Egyptian security official in the border area with Israel, speaking on condition of anonymity, has confirmed that about 50 tanks were deployed in the area overnight, AP reports.

21:12 GMT: President Morsi’s office has released a statement in response to his removal by Egypt’s armed forces, rejecting the situation as a military coup.

“Dr. Mohamed Morsi, President of Egypt, emphasizes that the measures declared by the Chief Command of Armed Forces represent a military coup d’état, which we categorically reject, in whole or part by all the honest honorable men who struggled for the transformation to democracy. The president stresses, in his capacity as the president of the republic and chief commander of armed forces, that all the citizens, civilians and militarians, leaders and soldiers, are required to adhere to the Constitution and law; not to respond to this coup which will throw Egypt back to the dark ages; and to maintain peaceful behaviors and avoid bloodshed.”

Pres. Morsy urges everyone to adhere to peacefulness and avoid shedding blood of fellow countrymen.

— Egyptian Presidency (@EgyPresidency) July 3, 2013

21:07 GMT:

Twitterfeed is divided btwn Egyptian's celebrating, #Brotherhood politicians slamming military coup & journos attempting 2report the madness

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 3, 2013

20:45 GMT: Multiple reports say the police is arresting crews of local TV stations that are affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. Shadi Hamid, an Egypt analyst with the Brookings Institution, says that staff of Brotherhood-associated Misr 25 have been arrested.

Brotherhood channel. RT @zeyadsalem: Police forces arresting the crews of Misr 25 islamist channel #Egyptpic.twitter.com/Jd0nxIt4So

— Evan Hill (@evanchill) July 3, 2013

Head of journalists union crying in TV #Egyptpic.twitter.com/f58VTbmLye

— שחררו את פלסטין (@SultanAlQassemi) July 3, 2013

20:15 GMT: Egypt’s head of the High Constitutional Court Adli Mohamed Mansour is to be sworn in as interim head of state on Thursday, Reuters reports citing sources.

Fireworks over presidential palace after Sisi announces the road map #egyptpic.twitter.com/Zj3OeCrj35

— Gregg Carlstrom (@glcarlstrom) July 3, 2013

Game Over pic.twitter.com/yCfPgxx3my

— SeifAshour (@SeifAshour) July 3, 2013

19:35 GMT: Egypt's leading Muslim and Christian clerics backed the army-sponsored roadmap. Ahmed al-Tayeb, Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar and Pope Tawadros, the head of the Coptic Church made brief statements following al-Sisi’s announcement.

The Garnd Sheikh said that he supported an early presidential vote based on an Islamic precept that the better of two evils is a religious duty, Ahram agency cites.

Tawadros believes the plan offered a political vision and would ensure security for all Egyptians, about 10 percent of whom are Christian.

Egypt’s second largest Islamist group, the Nour Party, also agreed with the proposed roadmap, saying that it would help avoid conflict, Reuters writes.

19:31 GMT:

19:30 GMT: Morsi's aide says the now former Egyptian leader has been moved to an undisclosed location, report AP.

19:23 GMT: Several Islamist-run TV channels including Hafez, Al-Nas, and the Brotherhood's Misr 25 are off air, reportedly on the order of the Interior Minister.

19:13 GMT:

Crowds have gone mental at Ittihadiya after Sisi announces Morsi's ouster pic.twitter.com/hCXY3wDvF7

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 3, 2013

19:00 GMT: President Morsi is overthrown.

Egyptian Army chief, General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is making a televised statement, announcing a new political roadmap to resolve the crisis. It includes the suspending of the constitution, holding early presidential elections, forming a national coalition government, setting up a committee to amend the constitution. The head of the High Constitutional Court is named as new interim leader of Egypt. 

18:44 GMT: Egyptian Court of Appeal has upheld prison sentence on Prime Minister Hisham Qandil, removes him from post, reports Reuters, citing a judicial source.

18:40 GMT:

RT @Egyptocracy: Photo: #Damietta streets filled with anti #Morsi ppl for the 4th night. via Hadia Abdelfatah pic.twitter.com/Nx0wcINp4R

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 3, 2013

18:25 GMT: At least ten people have been injured in clashes between anti-Morsi protesters and the president’s supporters, RT’s Paula Slier reports from Cairo. Army “vehemently denies” its troops attacked pro-Morsi demonstrators.

Meanwhile, the military are deploying in Cairo and Suez. Security reportedly was also tightened around tunnels between Gaza and Egypt.

18:05 GMT: Political roadmap for Egypt’s political transition will shortly be announced jointly by the country’s leading Muslim and Christian clerics and the leader of the liberal opposition alliance Mohamed ElBaradei, Reuters reports, citing MENA news agency.

The announcement comes after talks with military tops brass who had earlier given Morsi the ultimatum. The generals will be present at the announcement along with members of the Tamarod (Rebel) youth protest movement.

The transition plan includes a short period of interim rule to be followed by presidential and parliamentary elections, the Egyptian state news agency reported. It provided no further details though.

17:52 GMT: Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Muhammad Badie's six guards have been detained, according to Turkish Anadolu Agency.

17:40 GMT: The United States is “very concerned” about the situation in Egypt, the State Department’s spokesperson Jen Psaki told a media briefing.

17:37 GMT: Hundreds of thousands continue pro-president Morsi demonstration in front of Rabia Al Adawiyya mosque, Anadolu Agency reports.

17:24 GMT:

#Tahrir crowd shouting "Don't be scared, he's leaving"

— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) July 3, 2013

17:23 GMT:

Live picture of #SCAF guarding a bridge on Nile-river. #Egypt#Tahrir#July3pic.twitter.com/57OFW8mgHh

— Stun (@57UN) July 3, 2013

17:13 GMT: Army tanks have been deployed near the pro-Morsi sit-in at Nasr City, a Cairo district, according Al Jazeera.

There are also reports of the military deploying at key sites and intersections outside the capital, including on the highway to Alexandria.

17:12 GMT:

Fireworks exploding all around in #tahrir, people going crazy again as military helicopters fly over

— Kristen McTighe (@KristenMcTighe) July 3, 2013

16:56 GMT: Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad el-Haddad says all his social media accounts have been hacked.

All my accounts on the internet (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Gmail) r being hacked at the same time !!

— Gehad El-Haddad (@gelhaddad) July 3, 2013

16:54 GMT: Morsi's adviser says they do not know the whereabouts of the president at the moment, reports Naharnet.

16:50 GMT:

Very tense here #cairo univ pic.twitter.com/5DsdB6x8ZS

— Jeremy Bowen (@BowenBBC) July 3, 2013

16:47 GMT: Gunshots are heard near the Rabaa El-Adaweya Mosque in Cairo where Islamists are holding their sit-in, reports the Daily News Egypt.

Tons of shots just fired in air by soldiers where pro-Morsi gathered. People running #Cairo#Egypt

— Abas Aslani (@abasinfo) July 3, 2013

16:40 GMT: Clashes have reportedly broken out outside Cairo University between pro- and anti-Morsi demonstrators. The military had to intervene after rocks and Molotov cocktails were pelted.

16:30 GMT: Morsi was transferred to a center belonging to the Egyptian defense ministry in order to protect his life, according to local broadcaster MTV.

16:22 GMT:

Armoured vehicles that were just crossing 6th October bridge were heading in the direction of Tahrir Square pic.twitter.com/Gh79qyW7MB

— Claire Read (@clear_red) July 3, 2013

16:13 GMT: Several hundred soldiers and armored vehicles are reportedly on the main road near the Presidential Palace.

Military vehicles heading in direction of pro Morsi rally pic.twitter.com/74n7NBWlpc

— Kareem Fahim (@kfahim) July 3, 2013

15:58 GMT: About 20 military trucks are near Cairo University – a scene of multiple clashes and a pro-Morsi rally, RT's Bel Trew reports.

Crowds cheer as army copter flies over prez palace protesters who are already celebrating:they believe they've won pic.twitter.com/ut9gip1Yek

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 3, 2013

15:45 GMT:  “The US is pressuring the Egyptian army” to prevent it from taking action, states the spokesman for the National Salvation Front, the main opposition coalition group, reports AFP.

15:44 GMT: Military coup is under way in Egypt, according to President Morsi’s National Security adviser, reports Reuters. “No military coup can succeed against popular resistance without considerable bloodshed,” Essam El-Haddad added. The adviser said he expected army and police to use force to remove supporters of the President. 

Morsi urged Egyptians to resist the military coup peacefully and not to use violence, his aide pointed out.

15:43 GMT: Security forces have slapped a travel ban on Morsi and several Muslim Brotherhood officials, reports AFP, citing a security source.

AMAY quotes security sources as saying travel ban imposed on President Morsy, Mohamed Badie and Khairat al-Shater

— Egypt Independent (@EgyIndependent) July 3, 2013

15:17 GMT: Large pro-Morsi demonstration has gathered outside Cairo's Rabaa al-Adaweya Mosque, reports RT’s Paula Slier.

Meanwhile, Egypt's military leadership are holding meetings with the opposition and religious leaders. 

 15:12 GMT: 

MENA: Interior Minister orders handing out water and juice for protesters in Tahrir

— Egypt Independent (@EgyIndependent) July 3, 2013

14: 52 GMT: The Tamarod (Rebel) movement, which leads the anti-Morsi protest, has called on Egyptians to immediately take to the streets and squares to listen to the army speech.

14:51 GMT: President Morsi refuses to step down and says the military must not “take sides.” In a statement, he also proposes to create a coalition government headed by PM elected by political powers.

14: 42 GMT:

Egypt's army are discussing a new government with the prime minister until the next period of elections #egypt #egyptianrevolution2013

— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) July 3, 2013

14:34 GMT: The army has given Morsi until 17:00 Cairo (15:00GMT) time to either form a coalition government or face the prospect of a coup, reports Los Angeles Times.

14 :26 GMT: Cabinet secretary general, Safwat Abdel Dayem resigns, Egypt TV reports.

14:12 GMT:

No one talking at pro-#Morsi sit-in in lead up to 48 hour ultimatum,tried chatting to some ppl got surrounded by english speaking minders

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 3, 2013

14:10 GMT: Egyptian Interior Ministry issues a statement vowing to “use any possible means within their power” to protect the Egyptian people and uphold their responsibility for the people’s security, Egypt Daily News reports. It also said that the police promises to fight and stop all forms of violence against protesters and to work alongside the “valiant” Egyptian armed forces.

14:09 GMT: 

Protesters on #tahrir are chanting "People and police are one hand" #egypt #egyptianrevolution2013

— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) July 3, 2013

13:57 GMT: Egypt's anti-Morsi rebel campaign has urged Egyptians to flock to "every protest venue and street" as the army's deadline approaches, Ahram Online reported.

13:40 GMT: as the deadline looms, Morsi's supporters are also rallying in Cairo.

13:30 GMT:With one hour to go until the deadline expires, crowds are gathering in Tahir Square, as military officials have arrived at the state TV newsroom, according to AP. But Al Jazeera report that the Republican Guards are guarding state TV, who are loyal to the president and not to the army's General Sisi. 

13:15 GMT: Egypt’s Giza governor quits over clashes in Al Nahda Square, the State TV said.

13:00 GMT: The Egyptian army has said it has not set a time for the issuing of speeches or statements on Wednesday as the deadline looms, which may trigger a military takeover and which is backed by the majority of anti-Morsi protesters. Army sources had previously said they would issue a statement after the deadline they themselves set that expires at 15:00 GMT, 5:00 PM local time. 

12:56 GMT:

Army vehicles have been deployed elsewhere in #Cairo as the deadline approaches. #Egypt #Egyptianrevolution2013

— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) July 3, 2013

Rt @AleemMaqbool: Staff at Egypt state TV building say an army officer went round this morning telling non-essential staff to leave

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 3, 2013

12:46 GMT: The Egyptian state TV building is being guarded by armored army vehicles. Security sources report that staff not working on live television programs have already left the building.

At Egyptian TV building. Staff confirm military has taken over. Only retained essential staff, others gone pic.twitter.com/WnKTTpPJ1s

— Aleem Maqbool (@AleemMaqbool) July 3, 2013

12:44 GMT: Egyptian Presidential spokesman said in a statement it would be better for Morsi to die in defense of democracy than be blamed by history.

12:30 GMT: Dozens of family members of US embassy staff left Cairo following a speech given by President Mohamed Morsi on Tuesday evening which stressed his intention to stay in power, according to an official source at Cairo airport. The US citizens have reportedly headed to Frankfurt.

12:19 GMT:  The Egyptian army is preparing to issue a statement once the deadline for the military’s ultimatum to President Mohamed Morsi to resolve the political crisis expires, a source told AFP. “It is only a matter of hours. The Morsi regime will be thrown to the scrap yard of history,” insists Tauhid al-Benhawi, Secretary General of the opposition Arab Nasserite Party, in an interview with the Voice of Russia Radio. “Morsi still has time to tender his resignation before 5 p.m. on Wednesday. After that we will declare the presidential position vacant anyway,” he said. Both the president supporters and Egyptian army refused to make concessions as negotiations between the army supporting the opposition and the government failed.

12:07 GMT:

PM: The scenes in #Egypt are deeply disturbing. We support proper democratic processes and government by consent. #PMQs

— UK Prime Minister (@Number10gov) July 3, 2013

11:38 GMT According to some opposition sources, Egyptian reform leader and Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei is holding a meeting with Military Chief and Defense Minister Abdul Fatah Khalil Al-Sisi, Reuters reports. On Monday night al-Sisi met with President Mohamed Morsi, but reportedly failed to reach a breakthrough.

11:12 GMT: Residents have clashed with Muslim Brotherhood members outside Cairo University, Al Jazeera reports. 

Pro-Morsy protesters at Cairo University chant the anti-Jewish slogan: "Khaybar, Khayber, O Jews, the army of Mohamed will return."

— Egypt Independent (@EgyIndependent) July 3, 2013

10:45 GMT: Egypt's military council is currently holding a crisis meeting, according to a military source cited by Reuters. The meeting comes hours before the expiry of a deadline set by the army for the leadership to find a solution to the country's political crisis.

10:32 GMT: Almost 100 women have been sexually assaulted on Cairo's Tahrir Square during 4 days of protests in Egypt, according to Human Rights Watch.

09:25 GMT: Egypt's Islamist hardline group al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, a faithful supporter of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, has called on the Muslim Brotherhood-backed incumbent to hold early presidential elections, Reuters reports the groups spokesman as saying.

02:40 GMT: Egypt’s armed forces have issued a response to President Mohamed Morsi’s speech in a post on their official Facebook page. In the statement from the the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), entitled “The Final Hours” in reference to the army’s 48-hour ultimatum set to expire on Wednesday, there was little doubt left that SCAF intended to follow through on their demands.

"We swear to God that we will sacrifice even our blood for Egypt and its people, to defend them against any terrorist, radical or fool," read the statement.

That message was posted only three hours after Morsi entreated the nation to adhere to the “legitimacy” of his government. A military source who spoke to Reuters said the army’s statement made clear that it would not abandon the demands outlined by Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. 

The 48-hour ultimatum to Morsi is set to expire at 10:00 am EDT (1500 GMT), at which point the armed forces have stated that they intend to intervene to quell public unrest, and enact their own plan for a transitional government.

01:50 GMT: Violent demonstrations in Egypt overnight into Wednesday have so far claimed 16 lives, the country's Health Ministry reports, with at least 200 more said to be injured.

00:29 GMT: At least three people have been killed and 90 injured in continuing clashes near Cairo University between supporters of president Morsi and security forces, according to an aide to Egypt’s health minister who spoke to Reuters.

Egyptian Television showed ambulances taking away casualties, as well as small fires burning while hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi supporters wept and chanted slogans.

Monday, July 1

23:21 GMT: Fierce clashes have broke out between supporters of president Mohamed Morsi and security forces at Cairo University. Witnesses who spoke to Reuters reported dozens had been wounded, and heard gunfire and tear gas being used in the vicinity.

Thousands of Islamists had gathered at a square in front of the university’s main building to protest the army’s 48-hour ultimatum to Morsi.

23:09 GMT:

#Tahrir tonight. #Egyptpic.twitter.com/tnCEhxAlOP

— Abdullah Ayasun (@ABYASUN) July 2, 2013

22:45 GMT: In a lengthy address to the nation, president Morsi has made no indication that his government intends to comply with the army’s 48-hour ultimatum. The speech was punctuated by Morsi’s claim to legitimacy and the president often insinuated that the current public unrest was controlled by remnants of the Mubarak regime.

"Egypt has its own free will, it will move forward, achieve economic productivity - and this is not an easy task, it requires a great deal of effort, solidarity and cooperation. However, as you are aware, and the whole world is aware, that the challenges of the past remain in our way," the Egyptian President said, again referring to the "former regime," as well as to "insistent" corruption.

"Do not allow the revolution to be hijacked under any pretext," Morsi urged listeners before going into vague warnings against "malicious perpetrators."

"If the price for safeguarding legitimacy is my blood, then I am prepared to sacrifice my blood for the sake of stability and security of this homeland," added Morsi.

21:22 GMT:

#egypt president tweets that he has constitutional legitimacy& calls on the army to withdraw their 48 hour ultimatum. Big fight ahead.

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 2, 2013

20:01 GMT: At least seven people have been killed in clashes in Egypt's capital on Tuesday, AFP reports, citing medical sources. Meanwhile, only four deaths have been confirmed by the Egyptian Health Ministry. 

19:30 GMT: Egypt's Ministries of Interior and Health have confirmed one person killed amid clashes in Giza, according to Al Jazeera.

19:00 GMT: Dozens have been injured as live rounds were fired in the industrial city of Kafr Al-Dawar, as violence broke out between the opponents and supporters of Morsi, according to Ahram online, an Egyptian news website. 

17:57 GMT: US Secretary of State John Kerry said in a call with Egypt's foreign minister on Tuesday that Egypt's leaders must respect the views of the Egyptian people, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.

"Democracy is about more than just elections. It's about ensuring that people can have their voices heard peacefully," Psaki added.

15:07 GMT: An official source at the Giza Security Directorate said on Tuesday evening that demonstrators belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood fired shots at opponents of President Mohamed Morsi as they were marching in Faisal Street in Giza. Seven people were wounded by bullets and cartridges, Egypt Independent reported. 

15:43 GMT: Egypt's armed forces would suspend the constitution and dissolve the Islamist-dominated parliament under  a draft political roadmap to be pursued if Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and the liberal opposition fail to agree by Wednesday, military sources told Reuters. 

Exclusive: draft Egypt army roadmap proposes to change constitution and scrap parliament, say military sources http://t.co/wh2kazmwIf

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) July 2, 2013

15:41 GMT:

Protesters gathering at the palace with a giant flag pic.twitter.com/KSwLuzgP9u

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 2, 2013

13:44 GMT: Anti-Morsi protesters have begun to gather again in Cairo, AP reports.

13:23 GMT: Canada has closed its embassy in Cairo, saying it is "deeply concerned" about violence across Egypt.

13:03 GMT: Mohamed Morsi has met with the head of the armed forces for the second day, along with the prime minister, Morsi's office said in a statement. No details of the talks were given.

12:59 GMT: Egyptian troops are preparing to deploy on the streets of Cairo and other cities if necessary to prevent clashes between rival political factions, military sources told Reuters. 

12:32 GMT: Human Rights Watch has stressed the "need for accountability and for the authorities to take all reasonable steps to protect the right to life."

"With the prospect of more protests ahead, the potential for street battles and further violence is high," the organization wrote in a statement.

12:08 GMT: Egypt's justice minister Ahmed Suleiman contradicted an al-Arabiya television report that the government had resigned, Reuters reported. Six ministers who are not members of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood submitted their resignations on Monday, according to the official MENA news agency.

Egyptian cabinet, presidency spokesmen quit as crisis deepens http://t.co/noWZXXwVyi via @AlArabiya_Eng#Egypt#Mursi

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) July 2, 2013

11:05 GMT: The Prime Minister has not handed in his resignation, as the Egypt Independent just corrected their translation of the AMAY story. Premier Qandil is to submit the resignations of his ministers to the president.

11:00 GMT: Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Egypt for the third day in a row to stage anti-government rallies.

10:54 GMT: Presidential spokespersons Omar Amer, Ehab Fahmy have resigned.

10:43 GMT: UN human rights office has urged the presidency of Mohammed Morsi to listen to the demands of the Egyptians, and start a "serious national dialogue" to get out of the crisis.

06:37 GMT: US President Barack Obama has urged his Egyptian counterpart to address the issues raised by the demonstrators in the mass protests that erupted over the weekend.

"President Obama encouraged President Morsi to take steps to show that he is responsive to their concerns, and underscored that the current crisis can only be resolved through a political process," the White House said in a statement on Tuesday. It added that the Obama Administration does not support any one party in Egypt, but is committed to the “democratic process.”

05:54 GMT:  Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi has rejected the army ultimatum to resolve the crisis in 48 hours. The military insisted that otherwise they will introduce a roadmap for the country’s future, stressing that the national security was at risk.

01:40 GMT: Minister of state for legal and parliamentary affairs Hatem Begato along with minister of communications Atef Helmy, minister of environment Khaled Fahmy, water minister Abdel Qawy Khalifa and tourism minister Hesham Zazou all resigned on Monday according to state news agency MENA. In that joint action, the five government members announced their intention to abandon Morsi’s cabinet and join protests demanding the president’s ouster and early elections. They were later followed by foreign minister Kamel Amr.

In addition to the ministerial resignations five secular Shura Council MPs had also tendered official resignations on Monday, only a few days earlier fifteen other MPs had submitted their resignations in protest to President Morsi’s speech on Wednesday, which the opposition has said offered no solutions for the current political polarization still rocking Egypt’s government.

Sunday, June 30

23:50 GMT: AlHayat TV has reported that Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Mourad Ali has rejected the 48-hour deadline imposed by Egypt’s army, during which time Morsi’s government is intended to reconcile with protesters and end widescale public unrest. Ali said that the Army has no rights to set ultimatums for the country’s government.

23:27 GMT:

History in the Making!! #June30#Egypt#Ethadya#Revolutionpic.twitter.com/Vw4GyiSsJj

— Daliah Galal (@DaliahGalal) July 1, 2013

21:34 GMT: Egyptian Armed Forces spokesman Ahmed Ali said that Egyptian military doctrine does not allow for “military coups” in a statement posted Monday to Facebook.

“Egyptian Armed Forces’ doctrines do not include military coups as a policy. The armed forces already deployed on Egypt's streets in 1977, 1987 and 2011 and this did not lead to a coup, but rather [led the army] to stand with the will of the great Egyptian people and their desire for reform and change,” the statement said.

Anti-Brotherhood TV channels featuring a countdown to the end of army ultimatum. #30June#Egyptpic.twitter.com/az3JnZC9Xa

— benwedeman (@bencnn) July 1, 2013

19:38 GMT: Egypt's armed forces have banned the president and his entourage from leaving the country, ITAR-Tass reported.

19:20 GMT: Egypt's second largest Islamist party, the Nour Party, says it fears the army's return to public life in a "big way" after the military gave politicians 48 hours to resolve the country's crisis.

On its Facebook page, the party called for Morsi to take the "number and diversity" of the demonstrators into consideration and "realize the Egyptian people have legitimate demands that must be answered."

19:04 GMT: The Egyptian Brotherhood's Twitter says a statement will be issued "shortly."

Muslim Brotherhood and #FJP will issue a statement shortly to address the latest developments in #Egypt

— Ikhwanweb (@Ikhwanweb) July 1, 2013

18:57 GMT: The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party has denied that Khairat al-Shater's bodyguards were arrested.

18:32 GMT: The headquarters of the moderate Egyptian Islamist Wasat party has been set on fire.

18:30 GMT: President Mohamed Morsi is meeting the head of Egypt's armed forces along with the prime minister, according to a statement on the president's official Facebook page. 

17:55 GMT: A Morsi aide has called the army's ultimatum a "military coup," the Guardian reported.

"Obviously we feel this is a military coup," the presidential aide said. "But the conviction within the presidency is that [the coup] won't be able to move forward without American approval." 

17:17 GMT: A house belonging to Shater has reportedly been attacked by "armed thugs."

Armed thugs are attacking, attempting to storm the house of Muslim Brotherhood's Deputy Chairman, Khairat el Shater #Egypt

— Ikhwanweb (@Ikhwanweb) July 1, 2013

16: 20 GMT: Fifteen bodyguards of Brotherhood leader Khairat al-Shater have been arrested by security forces, Reuters reported, citing "security sources." Shater's family reportedly phone Al Jazeera to report that his home was under police attack. The sources said security forces were involved in an exchange of fire with the guards after going to arrest them for unlawful possession of firearms.

14:36 GMT: Egypt's army will not be involved in politics or government, Egypt armed forces chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said in a statement. He wants politicians to agree on an inclusive road map for the country's future, but says the army will offer its own road map if politicians fail to come to a solution in 48 hours.

Sisi added that the "national security of the state is at risk, due to the developments taking place in the country."

14:33 GMT: Egypt's army gives politicians 48 hours to meet the demands of the people.

14:01 GMT: 

Local media reporting we'll have a statement from the Egyptian military within the hour #egypt#scaf

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 1, 2013

13:50 GMT: Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil has reportedly rejected the resignation requests from four members of the cabinet: the ministers for tourism, communication and information technology, minister of state for legal and parliamentary affairs and minister of state for environmental affairs.

12:00 GMT: The Muslim Brotherhood is considering action to defend itself, following ransacking of the party’s headquarters by protesters earlier on Monday.

"It's very dangerous for one entity in society to take up violence as a means of change because it may entice others to do so. The Muslim Brotherhood is a disciplined organization," said Gehad El-Haddad, spokesman of the Islamist movement, as cited by Reuters. He added the armed men who ransacked the party’s HQ had crossed a red line of violence. 

Haddad said self-defense units might be created to curb violence. Those units are going to be similar to the people's self-defense committees which were created during the 2011 uprising that overthrew former President Hosni Mubarak.

11:50 GMT: Four Egyptian ministers quit Morsi’s cabinet, according to a government official. The four are Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou, Communication and Information Technology Minister Atef Helmi, Minister of State for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Hatem Bagato and Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Khaled Abdel-Aal. According to the earlier report by the state news agency the ministers were considering resigning in sympathy with the protesters.

11:00 GMT: The Egyptian Health Ministry has announced that 16 people died in Sunday's anti-government protests in Egypt. Previous estimates put the number of deaths at seven.

08:50 GMT: Egyptian protesters again stormed the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in Cairo after a night of massive protests. Witnesses reported ransacking of the HQ, including throwing things out of the windows and leaving with furniture and other items. There were no Brotherhood members inside the building, AFP reported. 

05:00 GMT: Early morning at the Tahrir Square is peaceful, though anti-Morsi protesters remain there as the rally described as the biggest in Egypt’s, and possibly world’s, history enters its second day. Dozens of tents are stationed at the Tahrir, with people obviously ready for long-term camping out.

03:00 GMT: An Egyptian military source told Reuters that as many as 14 million people in the nation of 84 million took part in Sunday's protests across the country. Despite no independent way to verify this estimate, some international media outlets have said that this could have been the largest demonstartion seen in the history of the world.

01:42 GMT: The latest video from RT's Ruptly video news agency shows crowds of anti-Morsi protesters in Cairo.

00:56 GMT:

Volunteers protecting women &pulling them out of mob sexual assault attacks @OpAntiSH report 42 women brutally attacked

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 1, 2013

00:33 GMT: The death toll in Sunday's clashes between supporters and opponents of President Morsi across Egypt has risen to seven. Two people have been killed during violence outside the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters in Cairo, medical officials say. Five others were shot in a town around the south of Cairo, one in Beni Suef and another in Fayoum and three in Assiut. At least 600 were injued, medical and security sources told Reuters.

00:20 GMT: “Tamarod” (Rebellion) movement - the backbone of Egypt’s resistance - has released a statement  demanding President Mohammed Morsi step down by Tuesday at 5pm. The movement also called on “police, army and judiciary” to support the people’s will. If Morsi fails to resign by Tuesday, civil disobedience will continue throughout the country.

---

Monday, July 1

23:39 GMT: Reports emerge that a number of people have been injured at the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters in Mokattam, Cairo, Ahram Online reports. The location is seeing ongoing clashes between those inside the building and the attackers. Slingshots and possibly live ammunition are being used. Earlier protesters threw Molotov cocktails.

23:30 GMT: Tens of political parties and groups forming the “30 June Coordinating Committee” released a statement thanking the protesters and calling to end political repression.

“We thank the Egyptian people who have revolted in their millions for a free Egypt, free of fascism, tyranny and injustice,” the statement read, while at the same time denouncing Morsi. “The presidency has released a statement belittling us and our legitimate demands and our million man marches all over Egypt’s squares.”

The committee promised to “stand behind the people and their just demands” and calls for further action by “all democratic means to demonstrate, hold sit-ins and strikes and besiege all state institutions and we demand the trial of all those responsible for torture, killing and announcing edicts inciting against the people and calls for terrorism which was called for by the Muslim Brotherhood.”

22:43 GMT:

Most protesters were carrying symbolic football red cards today reading 'leave' as they called for #Morsi to resign pic.twitter.com/HFkEmlF4OF

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) June 30, 2013

22:05 GMT: The leader of Egypt's Islamist Nour party, Younis Makhyoun,  presented himself on Sunday as a mediator with protesters and urged Morsi to make concessions to avert bloodshed on the streets. "There must be concessions, even if they are difficult and bitter, to safeguard the blood of Egyptians," Makhyoun said. "We are worried about an escalation that will be hard to control, and that guns will have the loudest voice."

21:50 GMT: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi knows he has made mistakes and is working to fix them, his spokesman Omar Amer said on Sunday as massive anti-government demonstartions engulfed the coutnry.

"(Morsi) announced to all of Egypt’s people he made mistakes and that he is in the process of fixing these mistakes," Amer told a late-night news conference.

"I want to confirm one truth, if there is a total lack of response to this initiative, no listening to it, no interest in it from any side, what do you think the presidency can do?"

"We respect the demands of the streets, and we acknowledge that the political scene in Egypt is continuously changing; however, initiatives are being made constantly and communications are ongoing,” Presidential spokesman Omar Amer said during the second press conference of the day. Amer also called for dialogue, “Those who have demands or visions must sit for dialogue."

21:40 GMT: There are reports of numerous cases of sexual harassment in Tahrir Square, according to Tahrir Bodyguards, a civil initiative fighting harassment.

Lots of reported cases of assault & harassment in #Tahrir. We recommend extreme caution in the area, especially for female protesters #EndSH

— Tahrir Bodyguard (@TahrirBodyguard) June 30, 2013

21:30 GMT:

Reportedly #Morsi left the capital for security reasons,amid clashes at MB headquarters in Cairo: still finding source for this.

— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) June 30, 2013

21:25 GMT: There are unconfirmed reports that President Mohammed Morsi has left the capital for security reasons.

21:28 GMT: In London hundreds of Egyptians took part in anti-Muslim Brotherhood demonstrations demanding President Mohammed leave and to make way for early presidential elections. "No to remnants of the former regime; No to military rule; No to the Muslim Brotherhood," they shouted for three-hours outside the Egyptian embassy.

21:17 GMT: Four people have been killed in clashes on Sunday. All four dead were shot in Nile Valley towns south of Cairo, one in Beni Suef and three in Assiut.

22:00 GMT: "It is the biggest protest in Egypt's history," a military source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

21:30 GMT: During the record breaking rally against the Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi, an Egyptian woman gave birth to a baby girl in Tahrir Square. The child named “Tamarod”, Arabic for rebellion and also an opposition group, which heads  a nationwide campaign against Mulslim Brotherhood and calling for Mursi’s removal and early presidential vote.

21:00 GMT: Egyptian Health Minister Mohamed Hamed says the number of injured across the country has increased to 228 from 174. Many of the injuries are related to the heat and crowds rather than clashes, Ahram Online reports. 36 people have been discharged from hospitals. 

18:30 GMT: Opponents of President Mohammed Morsi have attempted to storm the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo, the organization’s spokesman has said. Gehad El-Haddad, the spokesman for the Brotherhood, which nominated Morsi as its candidate ahead of last year’s elections, said several dozen protesters shot at the windows with shotguns, and threw Molotov cocktails and rocks at the building, which had been fortified in recent weeks. El-Haddad said the attackers were successfully repelled. 

17:00 GMT: From early on Sunday, throngs streamed towards Tahrir Square in Cairo – the birthplace of the protests that displaced former president Hosni Mubarak in 2011 – under the rallying cry of “Leave, Morsi! Leave!”. The organizers, an activist movement called Tamarod, or Rebellion, asked demonstrators – who include pro-democratic secularists, religious minorities, and those suffering in Egypt’s stuttering economy – to leave their party allegiances at home, and bring only national flags to the rally.