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.
