domingo, junio 30, 2013

‘Biggest protest in Egypt’s history’: LIVE UPDATES - June 30, 2013


Protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi set off fireworks during a protest at Tahrir Square in Cairo June 30, 2013. (Reuters)Protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi set off fireworks during a protest at Tahrir Square in Cairo June 30, 2013. (Reuters)
Millions have taken to the streets across Egypt to demand the resignation of President Morsi on the first anniversary of his inauguration. But Morsi loyalists are staging counter-demonstrations, saying they will defend the leader with all means available.
00:56 GMT:

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

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:

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.”


Protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi gather near a lit a flare during a protest at Tahrir Square in Cairo June 30, 2013. (Reuters)Protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi gather near a lit a flare during a protest at Tahrir Square in Cairo June 30, 2013. (Reuters)

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.”

Protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi gather during a demonstration at Tahrir Square in Cairo June 30, 2013. (Reuters)Protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi gather during a demonstration at Tahrir Square in Cairo June 30, 2013. (Reuters)

21:40 GMT: There are reports of numerous cases of sexual harassment in Tahrir Square, according to Tahrir Bodyguards, a civil initiative fighting harassment.

21:36 GMT: Watch RT’s Bel Trew with the latest report from Cairo: 




21:30 GMT:
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.

Protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi wave Egyptian flags and shout slogans against him and members of the Muslim Brotherhood, during a protest in front of El-Thadiya presidential palace in Cairo June 30, 2013. (Reuters)Protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi wave Egyptian flags and shout slogans against him and members of the Muslim Brotherhood, during a protest in front of El-Thadiya presidential palace in Cairo June 30, 2013. (Reuters)

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.

A protester opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi holds an anti-Morsi poster during a protest in front of the presidential palace in Cairo June 30, 2013. (Reuters)A protester opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi holds an anti-Morsi poster during a protest in front of the presidential palace in Cairo June 30, 2013. (Reuters)

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.  


Protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi shout slogans against him and Brotherhood members during a protest at Tahrir Square in Cairo June 30, 2013. (Reuters)Protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi shout slogans against him and Brotherhood members during a protest at Tahrir Square in Cairo June 30, 2013. (Reuters)

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.

A general view of protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi waving Egyptian flags and shouting slogans against him and members of the Muslim Brotherhood, during a protest in front of El-Thadiya presidential palace in Cairo June 30, 2013. (Reuters)A general view of protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi waving Egyptian flags and shouting slogans against him and members of the Muslim Brotherhood, during a protest in front of El-Thadiya presidential palace in Cairo June 30, 2013. (Reuters)


Anti-Morsi protesters (bottom) and residents of an area in Sidi Gaber, clash in a side street off a main street where a massive anti-Morsi protest is taking place, in Alexandria, June 30, 2013. (Reuters)Anti-Morsi protesters (bottom) and residents of an area in Sidi Gaber, clash in a side street off a main street where a massive anti-Morsi protest is taking place, in Alexandria, June 30, 2013. (Reuters)


A large Egyptian flag is seen as protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi shout slogans against him and Brotherhood members during a protest at Tahrir Square in Cairo June 30, 2013. (Reuters)A large Egyptian flag is seen as protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi shout slogans against him and Brotherhood members during a protest at Tahrir Square in Cairo June 30, 2013. (Reuters)


Supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi hold copies of the Koran during a protest around the Raba El-Adwyia mosque square in Nasr City, in the suburb of Cairo June 30, 2013. (Reuters) Supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi hold copies of the Koran during a protest around the Raba El-Adwyia mosque square in Nasr City, in the suburb of Cairo June 30, 2013. (Reuters)


Protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi shout slogans and set off fireworks during a protest in Tahrir square in Cairo June 29, 2013. (Reuters)Protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi shout slogans and set off fireworks during a protest in Tahrir square in Cairo June 29, 2013. (Reuters)


Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi shout slogans and waves an Egyptian flag during a protest around the Raba El-Adwyia mosque square in Nasr City, in the suburb of Cairo June 29, 2013. (Reuters)Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi shout slogans and waves an Egyptian flag during a protest around the Raba El-Adwyia mosque square in Nasr City, in the suburb of Cairo June 29, 2013. (Reuters)


An Egyptian opposition supporter holds a crossed-out picture of President Mohammed Morsi as hundreds gather for a demonstration against Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo's landmark Tahrir Square on June 29, 2013. (AFP Photo)An Egyptian opposition supporter holds a crossed-out picture of President Mohammed Morsi as hundreds gather for a demonstration against Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo’s landmark Tahrir Square on June 29, 2013. (AFP Photo)


President Mohamed Morsi burn the content of a Freedom and Justice Party office in the coastal city of Alexandria on June 28, 2013. (AFP Photo)President Mohamed Morsi burn the content of a Freedom and Justice Party office in the coastal city of Alexandria on June 28, 2013. (AFP Photo)


A scene of the aftermath of a fire that was set in the headquarters of the Freedom and Justice Party by anti-Morsi protesters during clashes between them and supporters of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi in Sedy Gaber in Alexandria, June 28, 2013. (Reuters)A scene of the aftermath of a fire that was set in the headquarters of the Freedom and Justice Party by anti-Morsi protesters during clashes between them and supporters of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi in Sedy Gaber in Alexandria, June 28, 2013. (Reuters)


 Supporters of Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood gather during a demonstration next to the Rabaa El-Adaweya mosque in the capital Cairo, on June 28, 2013. (AFP Photo)Supporters of Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood gather during a demonstration next to the Rabaa El-Adaweya mosque in the capital Cairo, on June 28, 2013. (AFP Photo)