Clashes by Egypt army, protesters kill at least 54

Pertempuran oleh tentera Mesir, penunjuk perasaan yang terbunuh sekurang-kurangnya 54

By kz1kizi♥@WORLDNews AkhirZAMAN

WORLDNews - CAIRO (AP) pasukan keselamatan Mesir membunuh lebih daripada 50 penyokong presiden Mesir digulingkan dalam salah satu episod tunggal dahsyat keganasan di lebih daripada 2 ½ tahun daripada kegawatan.

Pemimpin Ikhwan Muslimin yang digulingkan yang dipanggil untuk kebangkitan, menuduh tentera pemburuan bersenjata penunjuk perasaan manakala tentera Islam dipersalahkan bersenjata untuk memprovokasi tenteranya.

Pembunuhan beramai-ramai awal pagi Isnin ‘sit-in’ oleh Islam di luar ibu pejabat Pengawal Republikan, di mana bekas Presiden Mohammed Morsi pertama kali diadakan minggu lepas, terus berakar garis pertempuran antara penyokong presiden digulingkan dan lawannya. Kegemparan melemahkan parti politik yang disokong penyingkiran tentera pemimpin dipilih secara bebas pertama di negara ini.

Ulama Islam teratas Mesir, Syekh Al-Azhar, memberi amaran perang saudara dan mengambil langkah luar biasa mengumumkan beliau akan memencilkan dirinya di rumah itu sehingga kedua-dua pihak "menghentikan pertumpahan darah."

Golongan Islam tunggal yang disokong penyingkiran Morsi, iaitu ultraconservative Al-Nour Party, digantung penyertaan dalam rundingan untuk membentuk kepimpinan baru negara. Kumpulan itu kini terkoyak oleh tekanan dari banyak dalam asas, marah atas apa yang mereka lihat sebagai "pembunuhan beramai-ramai" terhadap Islam.

Kedua-dua tentera dan Ikhwan muncul bertekad untuk tidak kembali ke dalam konfrontasi. Ikhwan menuduh tentera menjalankan rampasan kuasa terhadap demokrasi, manakala lawan mereka berkata Morsi mensia-siakan kemenangan pilihan raya 2012 dan membawa negara ke monopoli kuasa Ikhwan.

Parti Kebebasan dan Keadilan, sayap politik Ikhwan Muslimin, menyeru orang-orang Mesir untuk bangkit menentang tentera, yang ia dituduh Mesir menjadi "Syria baru." Kepimpinan yang disokong tentera baru, sementara itu, telah menolak ke hadapan dengan rancangan politik pasca Morsi itu, bekerja pada jadual pilihan raya baru Presiden dan Kabinet baru.

"Ini boleh menjadi masa ekstremisme untuk kedua-dua belah pihak" persamaan, Mohammed Mahsoub, seorang ahli Parti Wasat Islamis berkata kepada TV Al-Jazeera. Serta-merta, kedua-dua pihak yang dikemukakan versi mereka apa yang berlaku di tapak bantahan, di mana kira-kira 1,000 penyokong Morsi telah berkhemah selama beberapa hari di jalan-jalan di sekitar Masjid berhampiran Ibu Pejabat Pengawal Republikan. Selepas keganasan bermula sekitar awal, kedua-dua belah pihak berjuang ia keluar untuk kira-kira 3 jam.

Penunjuk perasaan dan Ikhwan itu berkata ia bermula apabila tentera turun ke atas mereka dan melepaskan tembakan tanpa provokasi selepas saja mereka selesai solat subuh. "Saya solat berada di barisan belakang. Mereka melepaskan tembakan dari sebelah kiri dan kanan," kata Nashat Mohammed, yang datang dari selatan Mesir untuk menyertai duduk di dalam dan cedera di lutut dalam keganasan itu. "Kami berkata," Berhenti, kami adik-beradik anda. Mereka ditembak pada kami dari setiap arah. "

Jurucakap bagi tentera dan polis, bagaimanapun, memberi sidang akhbar nasional televisyen berkata lelaki bersenjata di kalangan penunjuk perasaan mencetuskan peperangan. Tentera Kolonel Ahmed Mohammed Ali berkata, polis dan tentera menjaga kompleks Pengawal Republikan datang ke bawah "bertempur" pada kira-kira 4 pagi dan penyerang di atas bumbung melepaskan tembakan dengan senjata dan koktel molotov. Seorang askar dan 2 anggota polis telah terbunuh, dan 42 dalam pasukan keselamatan cedera, 8 kritikal, katanya.

Walaupun beliau berkata tentera mempunyai hak untuk mempertahankan kemudahan itu, bagaimanapun, Ali tidak langsung menjelaskan bagaimana kematian penunjuk perasaan berlaku. Beliau mengucapkan takziah tetapi tidak memberikan maaf atas kematian.

Satu koleksi rakaman pertempuran disediakan oleh tentera, disiarkan di stesen TV Mesir, menunjukkan penunjuk perasaan di atas bumbung melakukan lob projectiles tentera di bawah, termasuk bom api dan tempat duduk tandas.

Ia juga menunjukkan beberapa penunjuk perasaan bersenjata melepaskan tembakan pada jarak dekat ke tentera, tetapi ia tidak menunjukkan rakaman apa yang tentera lakukan. Ia juga tidak jelas pada apa masa dalam pertempuran video dirakam. Ia termasuk pemandangan udara pertempuran.

Beberapa saksi dari luar bantahan itu berkata tembakan itu bermula apabila tentera muncul untuk bergerak kem. Pelajar universiti Mirna el-Helbawi memberitahu The Associated Press bahawa dia memerhati dari pangsapuri tingkat 14 beliau menghadap ke tempat kejadian, selepas dia mendengar penunjuk perasaan terhantuk pada penghadang logam, laungan perjuangan yang sama.

El-Helbawi, 21, berkata dia melihat tentera dan polis menghampiri penunjuk perasaan, yang berbaris di jalan di belakang dinding yang dibuat-anjakan. Tentera melepaskan gas pemedih mata, penunjuk perasaan bertindak balas dengan batu, katanya.

Tidak lama selepas itu, dia mendengar bunyi tembakan pertama dan melihat tentera mulanya berundur ke belakang - yang katanya membawa beliau untuk mempercayai tembakan datang dari pihak penunjuk perasaan itu. Beliau melihat penyokong Morsi menembak dari atas bumbung, manakala tentera juga menembak.

Menjelang akhir, sekurang-kurangnya 51 penunjuk perasaan terbunuh dan 435 cedera, sebahagian besar daripada peluru hidup dan birdshot, perkhidmatan kecemasan ketua Mohammed Sultan, menurut agensi berita negeri.

Terasa bahang dari adegan penunjuk perasaan berlumuran darah di hospital-hospital dan klinik, ramai dengan luka ternganga, beberapa ahli-ahli politik di negara ini cuba untuk menolak pelan baru untuk beberapa jenis perdamaian di negara ini amat polarisasi.

Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, imam besar Al-Azhar, yang paling menonjol Muslim Sunni institusi, menuntut bahawa panel perdamaian dengan kuasa penuh segera memulakan kerja dan bahawa mereka yang ditahan di hari baru-baru ini dikeluarkan. 5 tokoh-tokoh Ikhwan yang terkenal telah dipenjarakan sejak kejatuhan Morsi, dan Morsi sendiri diadakan dalam tahanan di lokasi yang tidak diketahui.

Pengumuman El-Tayeb, dia telah pergi ke pengasingan adalah pendirian simbolik tetapi dramatik - satu angka yang dilihat sebagai kompas moral oleh ramai orang-orang Mesir menyatakan rasa meluat dengan semua pihak dalam acara. Mesir Koptik paus mempunyai sekurang-kali yang pergi ke pengasingan untuk membantah tindakan terhadap masyarakat Kristian, tetapi Syekh Al-Azhar tidak pernah berbuat demikian.

Berjuang sama ada untuk baut sepenuhnya daripada kepimpinan baru, Party ultraconservative Al-Nour mengecam apa yang lain dipanggil hasutan terhadap Islam. Bercakap kepada Al-Jazeera TV, ketua parti Younes Makhyoun menimbulkan kemungkinan memanggil referendum pada Morsi sebagai langkah kompromi.

Terdapat pelbagai panggilan untuk siasatan bebas ke pertumpahan darah sebagai satu cara untuk menegakkan kebenaran dan bergerak ke hadapan. Presiden interim yang disokong tentera, Adly Mansour, mengarahkan siasatan kehakiman ke dalam pembunuhan. Ketara, kenyataan dari pejabatnya bergema versi tentera peristiwa, berkata pembunuhan diikuti usaha untuk menyerang ibu pejabat Pengawal Republikan.

Yang huru-hara yang semakin meningkat boleh merumitkan lagi hubungan Mesir dengan Washington dan sekutu Barat yang lain, yang telah menyokong Morsi sebagai pemimpin yang dipilih secara bebas pertama di negara ini dan kini menilai semula dasar-dasar ke arah kumpulan yang disokong tentera yang memaksa dia keluar.

Namun, White House mengatakan hari Isnin bahawa memotong lebih daripada $ 1 bilion bantuan tahunan ke Mesir tidak berada dalam kepentingan terbaik Amerika Syarikat, walaupun ia telah mengkaji sama ada bergerak tentera merupakan satu rampasan kuasa - yang akan memaksa langkah sedemikian di bawah undang-undang Amerika Syarikat.

Tetapi kepimpinan baru Mesir muncul untuk menolak ke hadapan dengan "peta jalan" tentera ditetapkan untuk sistem politik selepas Morsi. Rundingan telah berterusan sejak pelantikan Perdana Menteri yang akan memegang kuasa utama dalam mentadbir negara. Rundingan telah terhenti oleh Al-Nour Party vetos calon daripada puak liberal dan sekular - tetapi jika pihak yang tercicir, mereka puak boleh menolak melalui calon.

Kepimpinan dijangka mengeluarkan satu deklarasi sahaja menetapkan jadual untuk mewujudkan panel baru untuk meminda atau menulis semula perlembagaan Islam-digubal diluluskan semasa presiden Morsi - dan untuk mengadakan pilihan raya presiden baru, mungkin seawal 6 bulan dari sekarang. Al-Nour telah menolak untuk pindaan sahaja.

Pada masa yang sama, tentera telah menolak keras untuk mengasingkan Islam daripada sokongan orang ramai, menggambarkan protes mereka sebagai penuh dengan orang bersenjata. Ali berkata duduk di luar ibu pejabat Pengawal telah "meninggalkan kedamaian." Ali juga menunjukkan insiden keganasan yang lain Islam selepas menggulingkan Morsi pada Rabu, termasuk teratur, serangan maut oleh pelampau pada pemasangan tentera di Semenanjung Sinai.

Pendakwa di Kaherah pada hari Ahad mengarahkan penutupan ibu pejabat parti Ikhwan di tengah-tengah siasatan menyorok senjata ditemui di sana, menurut rasmi Timur Tengah News Agency. Semasa gelombang bantahan minggu lalu yang membawa kepada penyingkiran Morsi itu, penyokong Ikhwan menggunakan senjata dalam beberapa keadaan untuk mempertahankan pejabat mereka apabila lawan berarak ke atas mereka - atau secara terang-terangan menyerang mereka.

Menolak ke hadapan dengan tentera "peta jalan" mungkin untuk terus memanaskan Islam yang telah berikrar untuk meneruskan protes sehingga Morsi dipulihkan dan kini menggambarkan tentera sebagai bersedia untuk menghapuskan mereka dengan kekerasan senjata.

Di luar hospital dan klinik berdekatan keganasan Ahad, penyokong Morsi melambai baju berlumuran darah orang mati atau cedera. "Satu-satunya perkara tentera memahami adalah kuasa dan mereka cuba untuk memaksa orang-orang ke dalam penyerahan," kata Marwan Mosaad, bercakap di sebuah hospital medan dikendalikan oleh penyokong Morsi itu. "Ia adalah satu perjuangan yang dikehendakiNya dan tiada siapa boleh meramalkan apa-apa."

Mahmoud Abu Ubaida, seorang pelajar agama dari Universiti Al-Azhar, berkata beliau telah berdoa apabila duduk dalam pasukan keselamatan ini mula terhantuk pada penghadang logam dalam amaran. Beliau kemudian menyaksikan tentera keluar dari kompleks Pengawal.

"Bilangan tentera yang datang dari dalam adalah menakjubkan," kata Mahmoud, yang cedera di tangan. Ia adalah "seolah-olah mereka menembak musuh," kata seorang lagi penunjuk perasaan, Ahmed Youssef. Kebakaran tercetus daripada sebuah apartmen di dalam bangunan yang menghadap ke pertempuran. Imej menunjukkan lelaki membaling lembing dari atas bumbung bangunan berdekatan.

Penunjuk perasaan yang lain telah melakukan lob bom kebakaran ke tentera. Ia tidak jelas pada peringkat dalam huru-hara rakaman difilemkan itu. Pegawai-pegawai keselamatan telah menunjukkan kamera sarung peluru, dan tentera telah membawa rakan-rakan yang cedera.

Menjelang petang, yang duduk di dalam laman telah dibersihkan bersama-sama dengan sekatan-sekatan yang telah ditubuhkan di jalan raya. Tapak pertempuran awal pagi, satu jalur jalan raya kira-kira satu kilometer panjang (kira-kira setengah batu), dipenuhi dengan batu-batu, kaca pecah, kasut, pakaian, sejadah dan gambar-gambar peribadi.

Sepanduk Morsi besar kekal dinaikkan di hadapan bangunan Pengawal Republikan. Di atas tanah di bawahnya, grafiti berbunyi: "Di manakah suara kita?"

Wartawan Associated Press Paul Schemm menyumbang kepada laporan ini.

Photo: AP askar tentera Mesir mengambil kedudukan mereka di atas kenderaan perisai mereka untuk menjaga pintu masuk Tahrir persegi, di Kaherah, Mesir, Isnin, 8 JULAI, 2013. Pegawai-pegawai tentera Mesir, berkata orang bersenjata membunuh sekurang-kurangnya 5 penyokong bekas presiden apabila orang cuba untuk menyerbu sebuah bangunan tentera di Kaherah. Pegawai itu, yang enggan namanya disiarkan kerana dia tidak diberi kuasa kepada pemberita ringkas, juga berkata kumpulan telah cuba untuk menyerang ibu pejabat Pengawal Republikan. Beliau menambah bahawa mereka yang terbunuh telah penyokong bekas Presiden Mohammed Morsi berkhemah di luar bangunan dalam protes menggulingkan beliau. (Photo: AP Egyptian army soldiers take their positions on top of their armored vehicle to guard the entrances of Tahrir square, in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, July 8, 2013. Egyptian military officials said gunmen killed at least five supporters of the former president when people tried to storm a military building in Cairo. The official, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to brief reporters, also said a group had tried to storm the headquarters of the Republican Guard. He added that those killed had been supporters of former President Mohammed Morsi camped outside the building in protest at his overthrow).

Photo: AP tentera Mesir berkawal di sekitar bangunan Pengawal Republikan di Nasr City di Kaherah, Mesir, Isnin, 8 Julai, 2013. Tentera Mesir dan polis melepaskan tembakan ke atas penyokong Presiden menggulingkan Mohammed Morsi awal hari Isnin dalam keganasan yang meninggalkan puluhan orang terbunuh, termasuk seorang pegawai, di luar bangunan tentera di Kaherah di mana penunjuk perasaan telah mengadakan ‘Sit-in’, rasmi pegawai-pegawai kerajaan dan saksi berkata. (Photo: AP Egyptian army stand guard around the Republican Guard building in Nasr City in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, July 8, 2013. Egyptian soldiers and police opened fire on supporters of the ousted President Mohammed Morsi early Monday in violence that left dozens of people killed, including one officer, outside the military building in Cairo where demonstrators had been holding a Sit-in, government officials and witnesses said).

Photo: AP askar tentera Mesir mengambil kedudukan mereka berhampiran kereta perisai untuk menjaga pintu masuk persegi Tahrir, di Kaherah, Mesir, Isnin 8 Julai, 2013. Pegawai-pegawai tentera Mesir, berkata orang bersenjata membunuh sekurang-kurangnya 5 penyokong bekas presiden apabila orang cuba untuk menyerbu sebuah bangunan tentera di Kaherah. Pegawai itu, yang enggan namanya disiarkan kerana dia tidak diberi kuasa kepada pemberita ringkas, juga berkata kumpulan telah cuba untuk menyerang ibu pejabat Pengawal Republikan. Beliau menambah bahawa mereka yang terbunuh telah penyokong bekas Presiden Mohammed Morsi berkhemah di luar bangunan dalam protes menggulingkan beliau. (Photo: AP Egyptian army soldiers take their positions near armored vehicles to guard the entrances of Tahrir square, in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, July 8, 2013. Egyptian military officials said gunmen killed at least five supporters of the former president when people tried to storm a military building in Cairo. The official, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to brief reporters, also said a group had tried to storm the headquarters of the Republican Guard. He added that those killed had been supporters of former President Mohammed Morsi camped outside the building in protest at his overthrow).

Photo: AP Badan terletak di dalam bilik sebuah hospital selepas tembakan berlaku di bangunan Pengawal Republikan di Nasser City, Kaherah, Isnin, 8 Julai, 2013. Tentera Mesir dan polis melepaskan tembakan ke atas penyokong presiden yang digulingkan awal hari Isnin dalam keganasan di luar bangunan tentera di Kaherah di mana penunjuk perasaan telah mengadakan ‘Sit-in’, rasmi pegawai-pegawai kerajaan dan saksi berkata. (Photo: AP Bodies lie in a room of a hospital after shooting happened at the Republican Guard building in Nasser City, Cairo, Monday, July 8, 2013. Egyptian soldiers and police opened fire on supporters of the ousted president early Monday in violence outside the military building in Cairo where demonstrators had been holding a sit-in, government officials and witnesses said).

Photo: AP Seorang lelaki memaparkan dompet yang berlumuran darah yang dimiliki oleh penyokong bekas Presiden Mohamed Morsi di luar sebuah hospital tempatan di Kaherah. Mesir, Isnin, 8 Julai, 2013. Tentera Mesir dan polis melepaskan tembakan ke atas penyokong presiden yang digulingkan awal hari Isnin dalam keganasan yang meninggalkan puluhan orang terbunuh, termasuk seorang pegawai, di luar bangunan tentera di Kaherah di mana penunjuk perasaan telah mengadakan ‘Sit-in’, rasmi pegawai-pegawai kerajaan dan saksi berkata. (Photo: AP A man displays a bloodied wallet belonging to a supporter of ousted President Mohamed Morsi's outside a local hospital in Cairo. Egypt, Monday, July 8, 2013. Egyptian soldiers and police opened fire on supporters of the ousted president early Monday in violence that left dozens of people killed, including one officer, outside a military building in Cairo where demonstrators had been holding a sit-in, government officials and witnesses said).

Photo: APA penyokong bekas Presiden Mesir, Mohammed Morsi berdiri di luar sebuah hospital tempatan di Kaherah memegang baju berlumuran darah katanya kepunyaan penunjuk perasaan ditembak oleh tentera semasa demonstrasi, ISNIN 8 Julai, 2013. Tentera Mesir dan polis melepaskan tembakan ke atas penyokong presiden digulingkan awal hari Isnin dalam keganasan yang meninggalkan puluhan orang terbunuh, termasuk seorang pegawai, di luar bangunan tentera di Kaherah di mana penunjuk perasaan telah mengadakan ‘Sit-in’, rasmi pegawai-pegawai kerajaan dan saksi berkata. (Photo: APA supporter of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi stands outside a local hospital in Cairo holding a bloodied shirt he says belongs to a protester shot by soldiers during a demonstration, Monday, July 8, 2013. Egyptian soldiers and police opened fire on supporters of the ousted president early Monday in violence that left dozens of people killed, including one officer, outside a military building in Cairo where demonstrators had been holding a sit-in, government officials and witnesses said).

Photo: AP Seorang penyokong cedera di Mesir yang menggulingkan Presiden Mohammed Morsi menerima rawatan di sebuah hospital tempatan di Kaherah, Mesir, Isnin, 8 Julai, 2013. Tentera Mesir dan pihak polis mengawal bangunan Pengawal Republikan melepaskan tembakan ke atas penyokong presiden digulingkan Isnin pertumpahan darah yang meragut berpuluh-puluh nyawa, pegawai-pegawai dan saksi berkata, dan menjunam negara dibahagikan jauh ke dalam krisis dengan panggilan oleh Islamis pemberontakan habis-habisan menentang tentera. (Photo: AP A wounded supporter of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi receives treatment at a local hospital in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, July 8, 2013. Egyptian soldiers and police guarding the Republican Guard building opened fire on supporters of the ousted president Monday in bloodshed that claimed dozens lives, officials and witnesses said, and plunged the divided country deeper into crisis with calls by Islamists for all-out rebellion against the army).

Photo: AP Penyokong Mesir yang menggulingkan Presiden Mohammed Morsi memegang Al-Quran di hadapan tentera Mesir, tidak digambarkan, berhampiran Universiti Kaherah, di mana penunjuk perasaan telah dipasang kem mereka di dalam Giza, barat daya Kaherah, Mesir, Isnin, 8 JULAI, 2013. Tentera Mesir dan polis melepaskan tembakan ke atas penyokong presiden yang digulingkan awal hari Isnin dalam keganasan yang meninggalkan puluhan orang terbunuh, termasuk seorang pegawai, di luar bangunan tentera di Kaherah di mana penunjuk perasaan telah mengadakan duduk-dalam, rasmi pegawai-pegawai kerajaan dan saksi berkata. (Photo: AP A supporter of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi holds a Quran in front of Egyptian soldiers, not pictured, near Cairo University, where protesters have installed their camp in in Giza, southwest of Cairo, Egypt, Monday, July 8, 2013. Egyptian soldiers and police opened fire on supporters of the ousted president early Monday in violence that left dozens of people killed, including one officer, outside a military building in Cairo where demonstrators had been holding a sit-in, government officials and witnesses said).

Photo: AP Seorang penyokong cedera daripada Egypti Presiden Mohammed Mursi yang digulingkan dirawat di sebuah hospital tempatan di Kaherah. Mesir, Isnin, 8 Julai, 2013. Tentera Mesir dan polis melepaskan tembakan ke atas penyokong presiden yang digulingkan awal hari Isnin dalam keganasan yang meninggalkan puluhan orang terbunuh, termasuk seorang pegawai, di luar bangunan tentera di Kaherah di mana penunjuk perasaan telah mengadakan duduk-dalam, rasmi pegawai-pegawai kerajaan dan saksi berkata. (Photo: AP A wounded supporter of deposed Egypti's President Mohammed Mursi is treated at a local hospital in Cairo. Egypt, Monday, July 8, 2013. Egyptian soldiers and police opened fire on supporters of the ousted president early Monday in violence that left dozens of people killed, including one officer, outside a military building in Cairo where demonstrators had been holding a sit-in, government officials and witnesses said).

Photo: AP Mayat seorang penyokong untuk Mesir Presiden Mohammed Morsi yang menggulingkan dibawa ke rumah mayat di Kaherah, Mesir, ISNIN 8 Julai, 2013. Tentera Mesir dan polis melepaskan tembakan ke atas penyokong presiden yang digulingkan awal hari Isnin dalam keganasan yang meninggalkan puluhan orang terbunuh, termasuk seorang pegawai, di luar bangunan tentera di Kaherah di mana penunjuk perasaan telah mengadakan duduk-dalam, rasmi pegawai-pegawai kerajaan dan saksi berkata. (Photo: AP The corpse of a supporter for Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi is brought to a morgue in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, July 8, 2013. Egyptian soldiers and police opened fire on supporters of the ousted president early Monday in violence that left dozens of people killed, including one officer, outside a military building in Cairo where demonstrators had been holding a sit-in, government officials and witnesses said).

Photo: AP Seorang penyokong cedera daripada yang digulingkan Presiden Mesir Mohammed Morsi dirawat di sebuah hospital tempatan di Kaherah. Mesir, Isnin, 8 Julai, 2013. Tentera Mesir dan polis melepaskan tembakan ke atas penyokong presiden digulingkan awal hari Isnin dalam keganasan yang puluhan kiri orang terbunuh, termasuk seorang pegawai, di luar bangunan tentera di Kaherah di mana penunjuk perasaan telah mengadakan duduk-dalam, rasmi pegawai-pegawai kerajaan dan saksi berkata. (Photo: AP A wounded supporter of deposed Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi is treated at a local hospital in Cairo. Egypt, Monday, July 8, 2013. Egyptian soldiers and police opened fire on supporters of the ousted president early Monday in violence that left dozens of people killed, including one officer, outside a military building in Cairo where demonstrators had been holding a sit-in, government officials and witnesses said.).

Photo: AP Seorang lelaki Mesir menangis di luar rumah mayat selepas membawa mayat saudaranya terbunuh berhampiran bangunan Pengawal Republikan di Kaherah, Mesir, Isnin, 8 JULAI, 2013 beliau. Tentera Mesir dan polis melepaskan tembakan ke atas penyokong presiden digulingkan awal hari Isnin dalam keganasan yang meninggalkan puluhan orang terbunuh, termasuk seorang pegawai, di luar bangunan tentera di Kaherah di mana penunjuk perasaan telah mengadakan duduk-dalam, rasmi pegawai-pegawai kerajaan dan saksi. (Photo: AP An Egyptian man cries outside a morgue after carrying the corpse of his brother killed near the Republican Guard building in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, July 8, 2013. Egyptian soldiers and police opened fire on supporters of the ousted president early Monday in violence that left dozens of people killed, including one officer, outside a military building in Cairo where demonstrators had been holding a sit-in, government officials and witnesses said).

Photo: AP Mayat seorang penyokong untuk Mesir yang menggulingkan Presiden Mohammed Morsi terletak dalam ambulans di Kaherah, Mesir, Isnin, 8 Julai, 2013. Tentera Mesir dan polis melepaskan tembakan ke atas penyokong presiden yang digulingkan awal hari Isnin dalam keganasan yang meninggalkan puluhan orang terbunuh, termasuk seorang pegawai, di luar bangunan tentera di Kaherah di mana penunjuk perasaan telah mengadakan duduk-dalam, rasmi pegawai-pegawai kerajaan dan saksi berkata. (Photo: AP The body of a supporter for Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi lies in an ambulance in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, July 8, 2013. Egyptian soldiers and police opened fire on supporters of the ousted president early Monday in violence that left dozens of people killed, including one officer, outside a military building in Cairo where demonstrators had been holding a sit-in, government officials and witnesses said).

Photo: AP Seorang penyokong cedera daripada mengigulingkan Egypti Presiden Mohammed Morsi duduk di sebuah hospital tempatan di Kaherah. Mesir, Isnin, 8 Julai, 2013. Tentera Mesir dan polis melepaskan tembakan ke atas penyokong presiden yang digulingkan awal hari Isnin dalam keganasan yang meninggalkan puluhan orang terbunuh, termasuk seorang pegawai, di luar bangunan tentera di Kaherah di mana penunjuk perasaan telah mengadakan duduk-dalam, rasmi pegawai-pegawai kerajaan dan saksi berkata. (Photo: AP A wounded supporter of deposed Egypti's President Mohammed Morsi sits at a local hospital in Cairo. Egypt, Monday, July 8, 2013. Egyptian soldiers and police opened fire on supporters of the ousted president early Monday in violence that left dozens of people killed, including one officer, outside a military building in Cairo where demonstrators had been holding a sit-in, government officials and witnesses said).

Photo: AP Seorang penyokong cedera daripada yang gulingkan Presiden Mesir Mohammed Morsi terletak di sebuah hospital tempatan di Kaherah. Mesir, Isnin, 8 Julai, 2013. Tentera Mesir dan polis melepaskan tembakan ke atas penyokong presiden digulingkan awal hari Isnin dalam keganasan yang meninggalkan puluhan orang terbunuh, termasuk seorang pegawai, di luar bangunan tentera di Kaherah di mana penunjuk perasaan telah mengadakan duduk-dalam, rasmi pegawai-pegawai kerajaan dan saksi. (Photo: AP A wounded supporter of deposed Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi lies at a local hospital in Cairo. Egypt, Monday, July 8, 2013. Egyptian soldiers and police opened fire on supporters of the ousted president early Monday in violence that left dozens of people killed, including one officer, outside a military building in Cairo where demonstrators had been holding a sit-in, government officials and witnesses said).

Photo: AP Penyokong Mesir menggulingkan Presiden Mohammed Morsi terletak di sebuah hospital selepas tembakan berlaku di bangunan Pengawal Republikan di daerah Nasr City, di Kaherah, Isnin, 8 Julai, 2013. Tentera Mesir dan polis melepaskan tembakan ke atas penyokong presiden yang digulingkan awal hari Isnin dalam keganasan di luar bangunan tentera di Kaherah di mana penunjuk perasaan telah mengadakan ‘Sit-in, rasmi pegawai-pegawai kerajaan dan saksi berkata. (Photo: AP Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi rests at a hospital after a shooting happened at the Republican Guard building in the district of Nasr City, in Cairo, Monday, July 8, 2013. Egyptian soldiers and police opened fire on supporters of the ousted president early Monday in violence outside the military building in Cairo where demonstrators had been holding a sit-in, government officials and witnesses said).

Clashes by Egypt army, protesters kill at least 54

WORLDNews - CAIRO (AP) Egyptian security forces killed more than 50 supporters of Egypt's ousted president in one of the deadliest single episodes of violence in more than 2 ½ years of turmoil. The toppled leader's Muslim Brotherhood called for an uprising, accusing troops of gunning down protesters, while the military blamed armed Islamists for provoking its forces.

The early morning carnage Monday at a sit-in by Islamists outside the Republican Guard headquarters, where ousted President Mohammed Morsi was first held last week, further entrenched the battle lines between the ousted president supporters and his opponents. The uproar weakened the political coalition that backed the military's removal of the country's first freely elected leader.

Egypt's top Muslim cleric, the sheik of Al-Azhar, warned of civil war and took the unusual step of announcing he would seclude himself in his home until the two sides "stop the bloodshed." The sole Islamist faction that backed Morsi's removal, the ultraconservative Al-Nour Party, suspended its participation in talks on forming a new leadership for the country. The group is now torn by pressure from many in its base, furious over what they saw as a "massacre" against Islamists.

Both the military and the Brotherhood appeared determined not to back down in the confrontation. The Brotherhood accuses the military of carrying out a coup against democracy, while their opponents say Morsi squandered his 2012 election victory and leading the country into a Brotherhood monopoly on power.

The Freedom and Justice party, the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, called on Egyptians to rise up against the army, which it accused of turning Egypt into "a new Syria." The new military-backed leadership, meanwhile, was pushing ahead with its post-Morsi political plans, working on a timetable for new presidential elections and a new Cabinet.

"This could be a moment of extremism for both sides" of the equation, Mohammed Mahsoub, a member of the Islamist Wasat Party told Al-Jazeera TV. Immediately, both sides presented their versions of what happened at the protest site, where around 1,000 Morsi supporters had been camped out for days in the streets around a Mosque near the Republican Guard Headquarters. After the violence began around dawn, the two sides battled it out for around three hours.

Protesters and the Brotherhood said it began when troops descended on them and opened fire unprovoked as they finished dawn prayers. "I was in the last row praying. They were firing from the left and right," said Nashat Mohammed, who had come from southern Egypt to join the sit-in and was wounded in the knee in the mayhem. "We said, 'Stop, we're your brothers. They shot at us from every direction."

Spokesmen for the military and police, however, gave a nationally televised news conference saying gunmen among the protesters sparked the battle. Army Col. Ahmed Mohammed Ali said police and troops guarding the Republican Guard complex came under "heavy gunfire" at around 4 a.m. and attackers on rooftops opened fire with guns and molotov cocktails. A soldier and two policemen were killed, and 42 in the security forces were wounded, eight critically, he said.

While he said troops had a right to defend the facility, however, Ali did not directly explain how the protester deaths occurred. He expressed condolences but offered no apologies for the deaths. A collection of footage of the clashes provided by the military, aired on Egyptian TV stations, showed protesters on rooftops lobbing projectiles at troops below, including fire bombs and toilet seats. It also showed some armed protesters firing at close range at the troops, but it showed no footage of what the military did. It was also not clear at what time in the fighting the videos were shot. It included aerial views of the clashes.

Several witnesses from outside the protest said the gunfire started when troops appeared to move on the camp. University student Mirna el-Helbawi told The Associated Press that she watched from her 14th floor apartment overlooking the scene, after she heard protesters banging on metal barricades, a common battle cry. El-Helbawi, 21, said she saw troops and police approaching the protesters, who were lined up on the street behind a make-shift wall. The troops fired tear gas, the protesters responded with rocks, she said.

Soon after, she heard the first gunshots and saw the troops initially retreat backward - which she said led her to believe the shots came from the protester side. She saw Morsi supporters firing from rooftops, while the troops were also shooting.

By the end, at least 51 protesters were killed and 435 wounded, most from live ammunition and birdshot, emergency services chief Mohammed Sultan, according to the state news agency. Reeling from scenes of bloodied protesters in hospitals and clinics, many with gaping wounds, some of the country's politicians tried to push new plans for some sort of reconciliation in the deeply polarized nation.

Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, the most prominent Sunni Muslim institution, demanded that a reconciliation panel with full powers immediately start work and that those detained in recent days be released. Five prominent Brotherhood figures have been jailed since Morsi's fall, and Morsi himself is held in detention in an unknown location.

El-Tayeb's announcement he was going into seclusion was a symbolic but dramatic stance - a figure seen as a moral compass by many Egyptians expressing his disgust with all sides in the events. Egypt's Coptic popes have at times gone into seclusion to protest acts against the Christian community, but the sheik of Al-Azhar has never done so.

Struggling whether to fully bolt from the new leadership, the ultraconservative Al-Nour Party denounced what it called incitement against fellow Islamists. Speaking to Al-Jazeera TV, the party's chief Younes Makhyoun raised the possibility of calling a referendum on Morsi as a compromise measure.

There were multiple calls for an independent investigation into the bloodshed as a way to establish the truth and move forward. The military-backed interim president, Adly Mansour, ordered a judicial inquiry into the killings. Significantly, the statement from his office echoed the military's version of events, saying the killings followed an attempt to storm the Republican Guard's headquarters.

The escalating chaos could further complicate Egypt's relations with Washington and other Western allies, which had supported Morsi as the country's first freely elected leader and now are reassessing policies toward the military-backed group that forced him out.

Still, the White House said Monday that cutting off the more than $1 billion in annual aid to Egypt was not in the U.S.'s best interests, though it was reviewing whether the military's moves constitute a coup - which would force such a measure under U.S. law.

But Egypt's new leadership appeared to be pushing ahead with the "road map" the military set up for the post-Morsi political system. Negotiations have been ongoing over appointing a prime minister, who will hold the main powers in governing the country. Talks have been stalled by Al-Nour Party vetos of candidates from liberal and secular factions - but if the party drops out, those factions may push through a candidate.

The leadership is expected to issue a declaration soon setting a timetable to create a new panel to amend or rewrite the Islamist-drafted constitution passed during Morsi's presidency - and to hold new presidential elections, possibly as early as six months from now. Al-Nour had pushed for only amendments.

At the same time, the military was pushing hard to isolate Islamists from public support, depicting their protests as rife with gunmen and weapons. Ali said the sit-in outside the Guard headquarters had "abandoned peacefulness." Ali also pointed to other incidents of Islamist violence after Morsi's toppling on Wednesday, including coordinated, deadly attacks by extremists on military installations in the Sinai Peninsula.

Prosecutors in Cairo on Sunday ordered the closure of the Brotherhood party's headquarters amid investigations into a cache of weapons found there, according to the official Middle East News Agency. During the wave of protests last week that led to Morsi's removal, Brotherhood supporters used guns in several instances to defend their offices when opponents marched on them - or outright attacked them.

Pushing ahead with the military "road map" is likely to further infuriate Islamists who have vowed to continue protests until Morsi is restored and now depict the military as willing to wipe them out by force of arms.

Outside hospitals and clinics near Sunday's violence, Morsi supporters waved the bloodied shirts of the dead or wounded. "The only thing the military understands is force and they are trying to force people into submission," said Marwan Mosaad, speaking at a field hospital run by Morsi's supporters. "It is a struggle of wills and no one can predict anything."

Abu Ubaida Mahmoud, a religion student from Al-Azhar University, said he had been praying when the sit-in's security teams began banging on metal barricades in warning. He then saw troops coming out of the Guard complex.

"The number of troops that came from inside was stunning," said Mahmoud, who was wounded in the hand. It was "as if they were firing at an enemy," said another protester, Ahmed Youssef. A fire raged from an apartment in a building overlooking the clashes. Images showed men throwing spears from atop nearby building rooftops.

Other protesters were lobbing fire bombs at the troops. It was not clear at what stage in the melee the footage was filmed. Security officers were showing cameras bullet casings, and troops were carrying injured colleagues.

By the afternoon, the sit-in site was cleared along with blockades that had been set up on roads. The site of the early morning clashes, a strip of road about a kilometer long (about half a mile), was covered with rocks, shattered glass, shoes, clothes, prayer rugs and personal photographs.

A big Morsi banner remained hoisted in front of the Republican Guards' building. On the ground below it, graffiti read: "Where are our votes?"

Associated Press correspondent Paul Schemm contributed to this report.