At Least 65 Mohamed Morsi Supporters Killed in Cairo
Corrected: Egyptian security forces opened fire on a Muslim Brotherhood protest early Saturday morning, killing roughly 65 supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi.
Egyptian security forces opened fire on a Muslim Brotherhood protest early Saturday morning, killing roughly 65 supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi.
The slayings took place at a sit-in east Cairo, where tens of thousands of Morsi supporters have camped since he was thrown out of office by a military coup July 3. It comes just two weeks after security forces slaughtered 51 Morsi supporters at a nearby protest.
The event constitutes “the worst state-led massacre since the fall of Hosni Mubarak,” wrote Patrick Kingsley of The Guardian. Scores of Morsi supporters have been killed since his overthrowing in early July.
— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
WAIT, BEFORE YOU GO…Patrick Kingsley at The Guardian:
In what is the worst single mass killing in Egypt since the fall of president Hosni Mubarak two-and-a-half years ago, a Brotherhood spokesman said 66 of the party’s supporters were shot and killed on the fringes of a sit-in at a Cairo mosque demanding the return of former president Mohamed Morsi, who was deposed on 3 July, and another 61 were “brain dead” on life-support machines. Government officials claim that the number of dead was 65, a death toll greater than the Republican Guards massacre on 8 July that saw 51 killed.
The deaths came as men in helmets and black police fatigues fired on crowds gathered before dawn on the fringes of a round-the-clock sit-in near a mosque in north-east Cairo, Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement said.
“They are not shooting to wound, they are shooting to kill,” said Brotherhood spokesman Gehad el-Haddad. “The bullet wounds are in the head and chest.”
If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.
Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.