Egypt has issued a state of emergency Wednesday after 95 pro-Morsi supporters were killed in what is being called a “chaotic bloodbath.”
Reuters reports that Egyptian troops opened fire on demonstrators sympathetic to the ousted Morsi, killing 95 and wounding 874. A state of emergency was issued starting at 10pm on Wednesday, and to last a month.
Egypt is still deeply divided over Morsi’s rule and the military coup that ousted him from power. Protests in the capital and beyond boast millions or Morsi supporters, led by the Muslim Brotherhood movement that backs the deposed leader.
Mohamed El-Beltagi, the leader of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood faction, said that protests will spread beyond Cairo, the cities of Minya and Assiut, and Alexandria on the northern coast.
“I swear by God that if you stay in your homes, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will embroil this country so that it becomes Syria,” he said. “Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will push this nation to a civil war so that he escapes the gallows.”
At least 17 were killed in the province of Fayoum, five more in Suez, and between 29 and 60 in the capital.
The protest saw demonstrators waving flags and blocking roads, and the military was dispatched to prevent them from regrouping.
“At 7 a.m. they came. Helicopters from the top and bulldozers from below. They smashed through our walls. Police and soldiers, they fired tear gas at children,” said teacher Saleh Abdulaziz. “They continued to fire at protesters even when we begged them to stop.”
Photos posted on social media show dozens of bodies at protest camps in Rabaa and Nahda.
HRW #Egypt RT @hebamorayef : Of 32 dead on 4th floor, doc w list told me all excpt 1 due to live ammo, 1 burnt in tent pic.twitter.com/0FhUzJsOGe
— Lauren E. Bohn (@LaurenBohn) August 14, 2013
Powerful. MT @AFP : #PHOTO Egyptian woman stands between wounded youth & a bulldozer during clashes in #Egypt today: pic.twitter.com/PQRXR5en3o
— Global Fund forWomen (@GlobalFundWomen) August 14, 2013
The White House is expected to release a statement on the ongoing violence in Egypt this morning. We’ll keep you posted if and when it is reported that more than 95 have been killed in the unrest.
