- By
- CHARLES LEVINSON
- And
- MATT BRADLEY
- CONNECT
Egypt's army declared a state of emergency in Suez and southern Sinai ahead of protests from the Muslim Brotherhood against the military's overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi and the arrests of its leaders. Matt Bradley reports. Photo: AP.
CAIRO—A leader in the Muslim Brotherhood said Egyptian soldiers shot dead at least three supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi outside the Republican Guard club where Mr. Morsi is thought to be held in military custody.
Gehad Al Haddad, a spokesman for the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, said he has video proving that the military fired on the protesters. Hospital officials couldn't be reached for comment to verify the deaths.
Egyptian soldiers denied allegations that they had used live ammunition against Mr. Morsi's supporters, according to an army spokesman.
Egypt's army declared a state of emergency in Suez and southern Sinai on Friday ahead of mass protests staged by the Muslim Brotherhood, with the powerful organization's supporters demonstrating against the military's overthrow of Mr. Morsi and the arrests of its leaders.
Egypt is bracing itself for demonstrations by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and former President Mohammed Morsi, after the military installed a new president and pressed for the arrest of Islamist leaders. Charles Levinson reports. Photo: Getty Images
"When they failed to enter the Republican Guard headquarters, pro-Morsi protesters hurled molotovs at the military," said Col. Ahmed Ali, the military's spokesman. "The military, police and Republican Guard responded with rounds of tear gas to push back the protesters."
The spokesman said the shots eyewitnesses saw and heard were blank rounds fired into the air in order to dispel protesters, who were trying to enter the Republican Guard headquarters.
Mahmoud Younes, a Brotherhood supporter who said he had witnessed the scene, said the violence began after a protester held up a picture of Mr. Morsi against the barbed wire surrounding the Republican Guard club. A plainclothes military officer grabbed the picture and tore it up, said Mr. Younes.
Angry protesters then threw water bottles toward the military officers, who responded by firing tear gas.
After the reported shooting of the three protesters outside the Republic Guard headquarters, the scene remained tense.
Despite a military officers' plea over loudspeakers to not "provoke" soldiers, the protesters stood their ground and chanted "peaceful" before troops fired a sudden volley of tear gas and birdshot.
Thousands of demonstrators scattered wildly, running through traffic along a major boulevard that houses the Republican Guard headquarters.
The removal of Mohammed Morsi as Egyptian president will come as a big blow for the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been trying to gain power for decades. Charles Levinson looks at the fallout for the brotherhood both in Egypt and in other Middle East countries. Photo: AP
Associated PressSmoke in the colors of the Egyptian national flag trails from military aircraft as an opponent of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi flashes V signs in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Friday.
Pro-Morsi protesters were seen fainting from tear gas inhalation. As the smoke cleared, badly injured men were carried out of the crowd with bloody faces and limbs.
One man was unconscious and had a gaping wound in his forehead. It was unclear if it had been caused by live fire.
Following the violence, hundreds of pro-Morsi marchers rushed toward the Republican Guard headquarters.
"We were peaceful until the final moments," said Abdel Fattah Awadah, 35, a project manager who was holding up his bloodied palms to passing traffic. The man said the blood came from a shooting victim.
"We were here to express our outrage and there was shooting nonetheless," he said.
The Brotherhood has urged its supporters to protest peacefully. The Brotherhood has called the demonstrations "Rejection Friday."
The National Salvation front, a main opposition movement to Mr. Morsi, also called for protests across Egypt to protect the revolution's demands. Khaled Dawoud, the front's spokesman, urged "all Egyptians to mobilize in Egypt's squares and support the June 30 revolution."
Meanwhile, the African Union said it has suspended Egypt's membership following the "unconstitutional" ouster of Mr. Morsi.
[h=6]Days of Clashes[/h]Sporadic clashes have taken place throughout Egypt in recent days, pitting supporters of the Brotherhood against its more secular rivals and the state's security forces, which appear emboldened by the popular outpouring of discontent with Mr. Morsi.
Suspected Islamic militants opened fire at four sites in northern Sinai, targeting two military checkpoints, a police station and el-Arish airport, where military aircraft are stationed, the Associated Press reported, citing security officials. The military and security responded to the attacks, and one soldier was killed and three were wounded, the AP reported. Though similar attacks have been taking place in the restive peninsula for months and it was unclear whether the most recent attacks were connected to Mr. Morsi's ouster.
Huge swaths of Egyptians have accused the Muslim Brotherhood of failing to address the daunting challenges facing Egypt and refusing to cooperate with other political forces. On Sunday, Egyptians turned out in one of the largest nationwide protests in the country's history to denounce Mr. Morsi's rule.
The Brotherhood has said it has made repeated efforts to reach out to the opposition that have been rebuffed, and has accused remnants of the Mubarak regime—including the powerful state bureaucracy and the unreformed internal security services—of conspiring against it.
The Muslim Brotherhood remain the most organized party in Egypt despite the deposal of its leader Mohammed Morsi as the country’s president, says Tarek Osman, author of “Egypt on the Brink.” He discusses the religious and political group’s chances in a future election.
[h=3]Photos: Unrest in Cairo[/h]See photos from the protests that led to the removal of Egypt's Islamist president.
EPAEgyptians flashed the victory sign and waved flags as an army helicopter flew over Cairo.
[h=3]Timeline: Egypt in Transition[/h]Track key dates over the past two years.
Associated Press
[h=3]Checking In[/h]Arab Spring two years later
Many neutral observers, including secular democracy activists and human-rights workers, have noted that gas shortages and electricity cuts appeared to grow far more severe in the run-up to Sunday's anti-Morsi protests and suddenly abated after his overthrow.
[h=6]Resignations and Arrests[/h]Also Friday, Abdel Meguid Mahmoud said he was resigning as public prosecutor, having been reappointed a day earlier, according to state news agency Mena. Mr. Mahmoud, who was appointed by ousted President Hosni Mubarak, has been a focus of controversy over the past year after Mr. Morsi replaced him over the will of Egypt's judiciary with a presidential declaration last November.
Security officials arrested Muslim Brotherhood supreme leader Mohamed Badie at a tourist retreat in the Mediterranean town of Marsa Matrouh on Thursday. They also arrested his predecessor, Mahdi Akef, both rare steps even by the standards of Mr. Mubarak's regime.
An arrest warrant has also been issued for Khairat al-Shater, the movement's deputy head whom many consider its most powerful person, according to Mena. The two are wanted on charges of inciting the killing of eight protesters in front of the Brotherhood's headquarters in Cairo.
The leader of the Freedom and Justice Party, Saad al-Katatni, and his deputy, Rashad Bayoumi, have already been arrested and transferred to the state's feared Tora Prison, state media reported. The military also closed the movement's television channel, its newspaper and three other Islamist television channels.
Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, whose name has been put forth by an opposition alliance as a candidate for interim prime minister, defended the arrests in an interview with CNN on Thursday night. But other opposition leaders have criticized them and called for a more inclusive approach to the transition.
The new military appointed president, Adly Mansour , a judge who was named head of the Supreme Constitutional Court on Monday, said at his swearing-in ceremony that the Islamists should have a place in Egypt's political process. The military also extended an olive branch in a statement late Thursday. The statement said the military would work "to ensure national reconciliation, constructive justice and tolerance," and pledged to allow peaceful protests to go forward.
[h=6]Oil Prices Rise[/h]Crude oil prices shot higher after the state of emergency announcement. ICE Brent crude for August delivery gained as much as $1.80 before giving back some of those gains in high-volume, volatile trading as a Suez Canal spokesman said shipments were crossing normally.
Although Egypt isn't an oil producer of note, some 3 million barrels a day of crude oil pass through the strategic Suez Canal and the SUMED pipeline that runs from the Ain Sukhna terminal on the Gulf of Suez to the Sidir Kerir terminal on the Mediterranean coast.
—Ben Winkley in London contributed to this article.Corrections & Amplifications
Anwar Sadat was killed in 1981. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said he was killed in 1979.
Write to Charles Levinson at [email protected] and Matt Bradley at [email protected]
