Siege at Cairo mosque

Stand-off at Egypt mosque

Egyptian security forces are trying to end a siege at a Cairo mosque where hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters spent the night barricaded.

Radio New Zealand,

17 August, 2013

The tense stand-off followed a day of bloody clashes on Friday in which more than 80 people died.

Egypt is in turmoil after protest camps in Cairo were cleared on Wednesday with the loss of hundreds of lives.

The Brotherhood, which backs deposed President Mohammed Morsi, has called for a week of daily rallies.

Meanwhile, Egypt's interior ministry said in a statement that 1004 "Muslim Brotherhood elements" had been arrested on Friday.

The ministry said 558 of the arrests took place in Cairo.

On Saturday, police surrounded the al-Fath mosque in Cairo's Ramses Square, where Morsi supporters were holed up.

Security forces have entered the mosque to negotiate with the Islamist protesters to persuade them to leave.

Live television pictures showed security forces in riot gear on the steps outside, but with no sign of violence.

A BBC correspondent in Cairo reports those inside are worried about the possibility of arrests and more violence. They want the security forces to move away from the area before they leave the mosque.

Ramses Square was a focal point of Friday's clashes and the mosque was quickly filled with the dead and injured - as well as those fleeing the violence.

Dozens killed in new Egypt violence

Scores of people have been killed across Egypt as supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood clash again with security forces.

Security officials say at least 60 people have died in Cairo during the fresh violence between the security forces and protesters loyal to the ousted President Mohammed Morsi.

Journalists say they have seen many bodies and people badly injured near the capital's Ramses Square.

Reports say the military opened fire in the square on marching demonstrators.

A BBC correspondent says the protest was peaceful for about three quarters of an hour but the protesters then began stoning a police station on the edge of the square and the violence erupted.

At least 20 people have been reported killed elsewhere in Egypt in what the Muslim Brotherhood is calling a day of rage, Reuters reports.

The group is calling for the protests to continue daily.

Two days ago the protesters' camps were broken up, leaving at least 638 people dead and sparking international condemnation.

European Union diplomats will meet in Brussels early next week, with some calling for EU aid to Egypt to be frozen, the BBC reports.

The French and German leaders have called for urgent European consultations on the escalating crisis.

The United States has condemned the violence but stopped short of cutting US military aid to Egypt.

The US has also urged its citizens to leave Egypt and two of Europe's biggest tour operators say they are they are cancelling all trips to the country until the middle of next month.

Germany, Belgium and Sweden have all advised citizens to avoid Egypt's Red Sea resorts.

NZ fears for Cairo relatives

A former president of the Egyptian Association of Canterbury, Ola Kamel, who has lived in New Zealand for 18 years, says her friends and family back home fear for their safety.

She says so far her family members in Cairo have been lucky not to have been caught up in the violence.

"They are very scared and fearful and stressed. There is a curfew and the violence is everywhere," she says.

Ola Kamel says she expects the situation to escalate and condemns the actions of the Muslim Brotherhood, describing them as terrorists.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKF6YA9v4Qk

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See also - 

Mosque under siege: Hundreds of Cairo protesters barricade themselves inside following deadly clashes (RT)