Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Live Updates: Millions on Streets in Egypt; 2 Dead in Giza Clashes



by Hazel Haddon, Salma Shukrallah, Osman El-Sharnoubi, Nada Hussein Radwan, Sherif Tarek


Massive anti-Morsi rallies in Cairo, Alexandria and other governorates, while Morsi's supporters turn out in smaller numbers

Tahrir Square

22:00 Ahram’s Arabic website reports that numbers are increasing at the Qobba presidential palace in Heliopolis. At a nearby underground metro station, crowds are so large the station workers have opened the metro barriers to allow people to exit more easily. Groups of people wearing high-visibility jackets are spreading out securing the rally, reports Ahram.
 
Qobba only became a major location for protests this weekend; previously, anti-Morsi marches headed to Tahrir Square or to Ittihadiya presidential palace (also in Heliopolis), where the president’s office is officially based. On 30 June, however, the president moved his office to Qobba, and as a result the palace is becoming a popular destination for rallies and marches.
 
21:45 More clashes in Upper Egypt. Violence broke out between pro- and anti-Morsi supporters in the city of Minya after a number of Morsi supporters reportedly fired at anti-Morsi protesters during rival protests, according to Ahram Arabic.
 
Thousands of Morsi supporters had gathered in front Al-Rahman mosque, known in the city as an Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya spot, in a march towards the city’s Palace Square where hundreds of anti-Morsi protesters had been staging a sit-in against the recently-appointed Islamist affiliated governor, when a number of people from the pro-Morsi protest reportedly fired at protesters in front of the governorate building.
 
An account of injuries has not yet been provided.
 
Police fired rounds of teargas in the perimeter of the governorate headquarters to disperse the two camps.
 
21:40 Clashes erupt in Luxor in front of the governorate headquarters after pro-Morsi demonstrators attacked an anti-Morsi protest, reports Ahram Arabic. Several have been reported injured, although the official number is still unconfirmed. Security forces apparently intervened to contain clashes.
 
In Beni Suef, pro-Morsi demonstrators retreated from the main square after anti-Morsi demonstrators approached.
 
21:30 Ministry of health announces one dead in clashes in Giza that took place between opponents and supporters of President Morsi. In total, 72 have been injured during the Tuesday clashes over nine different governorates.
 
21:05 We should stress that the injuries and deaths that are being reported are happening at the margins, not in the main protest sites. Tahrir Square, Ittihadiya, and Qobba are all so far free of any clashes, as is the main Islamist rally in Rabaa Al-Adawiya.
 
The clashes have been occurring in locations where smaller numbers and marches are taking place. The two reported deaths were in Kit Kat in Giza, which is located on the western side of the Nile river, opposite Cairo.
 
21:00 The Minister of Health Mostafa Hamed has announced that 39 people have been injured in clashes in seven governorates: Cairo, Alexandria, Qalioubiya, Giza, Daqahliya, Damietta and Fayoum, which saw the highest number of injuries per governorate at 21.
 
Hamed said that 17 out of the 39 injured have been discharged from hospitals. The two deaths in Giza have yet to be confirmed officially.
 
20:50 Thousands of anti-Morsi demonstrators are gathered in El-Horreya Square in the city of Damietta, reports Ahram Arabic. Earlier on Tuesday evening, hundreds of Morsi supporters had gathered near the square to demonstrate but retreated when scuffles broke out with residents. Police forces are still deployed around the square to form a buffer between the two camps.
 
20:45 There have been a number of political resignations today, including six ministers, a cabinet spokesperson, and a number of others.
 
30 June After math
 
20:40 There are more clashes reported in Beheira governorate, where Damanhour is located.

Violence broke out between opponents and supporters of Morsi in the industrial city of Kafr Al-Dawar in Beheira, according to Ahram's Arabic website. Dozens were injured as live rounds were fired, the site reported.

The ultra-conservative Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya had earlier staged a pro-Morsi march, while other protesters chanted slogans against him, prompting minor clashes as each side threw stones at the other.
 
20:30 More clashes in El-Agamy on the Mediterranean, where police are firing teargas at fighting crowds, after violence erupted a few hours ago between Brotherhood supporters and residents, in which both sides exchanged fire and birdshot.
 
Violence broke out after drivers and residents in the area were angered after a pro-Brotherhood march blocked part of the road. Many were injured, according to the same report, while no deaths were reported.
 
Police General Nasser El-Abd, head of Alexandria's investigative department, said that 25 people were injured in the clashes. He said they were all injured by stones, stressing that no one was injured by birdshot or live ammunition.
 
Not far away in the city of Damanhour, MENA agency reports clashes between Morsi's supporters and opponents, after the pro-Morsi group had gathered to begin a march. Shots could be heard from the clashes but thus far no injuries have been reported.
 
20:25 Clashes between pro- and anti-Morsi groups in the Kit Kat district of Giza have killed two, according to Ahram Arabic. The two people were killed by "live fire" which also injured another 13 people. The injured have been moved to hospitals in Imbaba and Agouza.
 
20:20 In the vicinity of Rabaa Al-Adawiya Mosque in Nasr City, quite a long walk from Tahrir Square but a fairly short drive when Egypt’s streets are clear, the president’s supporters gather in their hundreds of thousands, defying the millions of anti-Morsi demonstrators gathered in dozens of squares across Egypt.
 
It seems the numbers are swelling somewhat. MENA agency reports that a group have left the Rabaa sit-in to form a march to nearby Abbas Al-Akkad avenue, presumably as the space fills up.
 
MENA also reports that the supporting rally at Cairo University in Egypt’s Giza district is growing as many marches, some led by Islamist MPs, make their way to the area.
 
20:15 Thousands of pro-Morsi demonstrators took over the Thaqafa Square, the main square in Upper Egypt’s Sohag. Anti-Morsi protesters were pushed to retreat into other streets of the city fearing clashes, reports Ahram Arabic.
 
20:10 Reports of more clashes are coming in. The Socialist Popular Alliance reports on Twitter that member Mohamed El-Sayyed was shot in the arm during a Brotherhood attack on an opposition in Helwan, south of Cairo.
 
20:05 Thousands of supporters of President Morsi have gathered in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Assiut in front of Omar Makram Mosque, reported Ahram Arabic. At the same time, hundreds of opponents have started to gather in a demonstration in front of the governorate headquarters.
 
20:00 Egypt’s state news agency MENA reports two major marches have reached a packed Tahrir Square.
 
19:50 A US State Department spokesperson speaking at a press conference says that reports that the US has been pressing for early presidential elections in Egypt - the main demand of anti-government protesters - are inaccurate. She seems reluctant to commit to one side or the other, commenting that the US government is in contact with all sides - government, military, opposition - and refusing to speculate about any implications for American aid to the country.
 
19:40 Egyptian television is showing images of Qobba presidential palace in Cairo, where hundreds of thousands have gathered. Fireworks are lighting up the sky.
 
19:35 The headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) in the city of Banha in the northern governorate of Qalioubiya was burnt after it was stormed by anti-Morsi protestors. The contents of the headquarters were destroyed and the banner that carries the name of the party was removed, reports Ahram Arabic.
 
19:27 There are a number of reports coming in of gunfire in Kit Kat Square in Giza.  Ahram Online’s Sherif Tarek reported hearing gunfire in Nile Street in Agouza, in Giza, while Ahram Arabic website reports clashes using pellets and Molotov cocktails in two separate places: Bein Al-Sarayat district in Giza, and Kit Kat.
 
19:25 In a statement issued at 4pm, the Islamist Wasat Party - one of the Muslim Brotherhood's staunchest allies - talked about the “angry, legitimate mobilisation of the people” and warned against plans by "enemies of the nation" to "hijack" their movement.
 
The party also acknowledged what they said were failures by the ruling regime to manage economic problems, and blamed the anti-government media for angering Egyptians. The statement called for supporting "constitutional legitimacy" and expressed its reservations about the army's entry into political affairs.
 
19:20 Anti-Morsi marches are heading to Tahrir Square from Shubra district and from Mostafa Mahmoud Square in the district of Mohandeseen. 
 
19:15  The anti-Morsi Rebel campaign has released a statement saying that it has nominated three of its members to participate in the negotiations called for by the armed forces to set a new road map. Mahmoud Badr, Hassan Shahin and Mohamed Abdel-Aziz are the three members nominated.
 
Member of the Rebel’s central committee, Mona Selim, announced that 90 percent of the campaign’s organising committee have agreed to participate in the negotiations, declaring them “a dialogue for handing over power”.
 
The campaign’s proposed roadmap stipulates that power is handed over to head of the High Constitutional Court (HCC) and a new technocrat government is formed.
 
19:10 Dozens were reportedly injured in clashes between pro- and anti-Morsi protesters in the seaside town of of El-Agamy, east of Alexandria, where police forces are attempting to contain the clashes, reports Ahram Arabic news website.
 
19:00 Welcome to Ahram Online's live updates. We are 24 hours into a 48-hour ultimatum issued by the Egyptian military, which called on political forces in Egypt to "meet the people's demands" or face a military-imposed roadmap.
 
The ultimatum came after a weekend of massive, unprecedented protests against President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood group from which he hails.
 
Anti-Morsi supporters have been flocking onto the streets and celebrating the army's statement in the key focal points of the Ittihadiya palace and Tahrir Square, with many reading it as a sign that Morsi will step-down. Morsi's supporters have also taken to the streets in several parts of Egypt, mainly in Rabaa Al-Adaweya square where hundreds of thousands have been holding a sit-in since Friday, to declare their support for the president.
 
Key events today so far:
  • The 30 June Front, a coalition of a number of key opposition groups, have put forward Mohamed ElBaradei as a spokesman, while the cabinet has selected Prime Minister Hisham Qandil. President Morsi, Qandil and armed forces head Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi reportedly met today.
  • Violent clashes since Monday in a number of governorates have led to 152 injuries.
  • A Cairo appeal court on Tuesday morning upheld a lower court's decision to dismiss prosecutor-general Talaat Abdullah, appointed by President Morsi, although it is unclear whether the former prosecutor-general, Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud, will take up the position.
  • The number of ministerial resignations is up to 6, with the resignation of foreign minister Mohamed Kamal Amr, a career diplomat who was originally appointed in 2011 under military council rule. Two presidential spokesmen also resigned.
  • Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II issues a statement praising the anti-Morsi Rebel campaign which spearheaded the weekend's protests.
  • The April 6 Youth Movement, a key revolutionary group, called on President Morsi to dissolve the Islamist-dominated Shura Council, freeze the constitution and hand over power to the head of the High Constitutional Court who would then set the date for presidential elections within three months.
  • The Egyptian stock market reacted very positively, climbing 5 percent on Tuesday.
Egyptians are currently on the streets in large numbers.
 
 
Anti-Morsi demonstrations:
  • In Cairo, there are massive anti-Morsi crowds gathered in Tahrir Square, at Ittihadiya presidential palace, and at Qobba presidential palace.
  • There are also anti-Morsi rallies in Alexandria and the governorates of Gharbiya, Sharqiya, Daqahliya, and in the cities of Suez and Port Said.
  • There are some smaller protests, directed against new governors appointed by President Morsi earlier this month, being held at governorate headquarters in Gharbiya, Sharqiya, Assiut and Kafr El-Sheikh.
Pro-Morsi demonstrations: 
  • In Cairo, supporters of the president are still gathered at Rabaa Al-Adawiya Mosque in Nasr City, and there are smaller demonstrations on the other side of the river in Giza.
  • There are demonstrations underway in Ismailiya and Zagazig; both reportedly number in the hundreds.

Hazel Haddon, Salma Shukrallah, Osman El-Sharnoubi, Nada Hussein Radwan, Sherif Tarek

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentP/1/75511/Egypt/Live-updates-Millions-on-streets-in-Egypt;--dead-i.aspx

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

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