Cairo: In a major crackdown by the Egyptian Army and security forces in Cairo at least 200 Mohammed Morsi supporters have been killed, said the Muslim Brotherhood. Since Wednesday morning, the forces have bulldozed camps, lobbed tear gas at protesters in Cairo.
But the Egyptian government has contradicted the Muslim Brotherhood's claim saying that only 26 people have been injured so far. State run Nile TV claims two security personnel have been killed.
The Egyptian Army has launched a massive operation to remove Morsi's supporters. Wednesday's crackdown follows weeks of warnings from the interim leadership that force would possibly used to clear the protesters.
The forces, backed by armoured cars and bulldozers, moved on Wednesday to clear two sit-in camps by supporters of the country's ousted Morsi, showering protesters with tear gas as the sound of gunfire rang out at both sites, state television and security officials said.
The Interior Ministry, which is in charge of police, warned in a statement that the forces would deal firmly with protesters acting "irresponsibly" and said it would guarantee safe passage to those who want to leave the sites. The state news agency said security forces had started implementing a phased plan to disperse the protesters.
An Associated Press television video journalist at the scene of the larger of the two camps said he could hear the screams of women as a cloud of white smoke hung over the site in the eastern Cairo suburb of Nasr City. He said a bulldozer was removing mounds of sand bags and brick walls built by the protesters as a defence line in their camp. Army troops, however, were not taking part in the operation.
The simultaneous actions by the Egyptian forces - at the pro-Morsi encampment in Nasr City and at the site outside the main campus of Cairo University on the other side of the city- began around 7 a.m. (0500 GMT). Helicopters hovered over the two sites.
(With additional information from Associated Press)
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