Troops open fire as Morsi supporters take to the streets

Islamist supporters of Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's ousted president, held enormous demonstrations in Cairo on Friday, and thousands of them angrily confronted security forces guarding the compound where he was believed to be held. Witnesses said at least five demonstrators were killed by gunfire.

Many others were wounded in the confrontation, but the precise casualty toll was unclear. Reporters heard multiple volleys of gunshots and saw blood on the streets and demonstrators nursing what appeared to be birdshot wounds. Large numbers of soldiers, rifles at the ready, were perched behind sandbagged barricades in front of the Republican Guard barracks, ringed by barbed wire and believed to be housing Morsi. The smell of tear gas hung in the air.

"Where's Morsi? Where's Morsi?" angry demonstrators screamed, shaking their shoes in disrespect at military helicopters circling them. Many of the Morsi loyalists spoke of martyrdom and said they would not leave the streets until their leader was freed and restored to office, raising the possibility of further violence and a prolonged standoff.

"Everyone here is ready to die," said a demonstrator who identified himself as Mohamed Ismael, a 41-year-old veterinarian.

Video uploaded on YouTube showed what appeared to be one dead protester on the street. Al Jazeera television reported that the army had denied its soldiers opened fire on protesters and had said the soldiers were armed only with blank cartridges and tear gas.

The demonstrations were organized by the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies to express their outrage over the ouster and arrest of Morsi, an Islamist and Egypt's first freely elected president. He was in power for only a year. Since he was forced out by military commanders Wednesday evening, security forces have arrested dozens of senior Muslim Brotherhood members and shut down its television stations in a widening crackdown.

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Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/troops-open-fire-as-morsi-supporters-take-to-the-streets/1138253/

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