Cairo, hundreds of Islamists barricaded in mosque. More attacks on churches and Christian buildings
Cairo (AsiaNews) - Hundreds of Islamists have barricaded themselves in the Ghamal Al-Fatah mosque since last night (see photo), after bloody clashes with the army following the "Day of Rath" launched by the Muslim Brotherhood to demand the return of ousted President Mohamed Morsi. Meanwhile, representatives of the Christian Churches are drawing up a list of new attacks on Christian buildings that took place yesterday at the hands of Morsi supporters.
The Al-Fatah mosque is located
near Ramses Square, the meeting point of the Islamists for the demonstrations
yesterday, who wanted to challenge the state of emergency and a curfew imposed
by the army, after the bloodbath of three days ago in which over 600 people were killed.
The current situation is one
of confusion. Some
sources say that the soldiers entered the mosque to negotiate its evacuation
with protesters. Many
of them asked not to be arrested and to be protected from possible snipers
outside the building. Other
sources say that more than 700 protesters want to remain barricaded in the
mosque, surrounded by armored vehicles and soldiers in riot gear. Some
state media say that shots were fired from inside the building.
According to official sources
yesterday at least 1,000 demonstrators were arrested, more than 500 in Cairo
alone. Demonstrations
also took place in other parts of the country. The
updated death toll now stands at around 100 people, half of them in the
provinces.
Witnesses
report that not all of the protesters were helpless civilians. Some were fully armed with automatic weapons.
The
army clashed with them when they tried to attack and set fire to government
buildings and police stations. One
of the buildings that was destroyed in the clashes was the Cairo blood bank,
near Ramses Square, which houses millions of blood donations. The
Islamists penetrated the building setting fire to it while employees trapped inside
tried to save themselves. The
pro-Morsi protesters even greeted firemen who rushed to the scene with gunfire.
As
in recent days, pro-Morsi Islamists yesterday launched fresh attacks on churches
and Christian buildings. Unconfirmed
reports speak of more than 50 buildings affected, but a more objective
verification by Christian organizations now confirms the sacking of five
churches, in addition to the 39 buildings burned in recent days.
The
Egyptian population seems to be increasingly siding with the army and
especially against the Muslim Brotherhood who they are describing as "terrorists" given the violence and radical
Islamic nature of their projects. But
within the National Liberation Front, a set of groups that led to the fall of
Morsi, some are critical of the army's use of violence. Yesterday
Khaled Dawoud, a spokesman for the Front, resigned, on the14th Vice-President
Mohamed El-Baradei also resigned because he did not want to be associated with
a "bloodbath which could have been avoided."
Yesterday
pro-Morsi demonstrators received the support of fundamentalist groups close to
Hamas in Jerusalem and Hebron. The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran also spoke in favor of the Islamists. The
army's heavy use of violence has also been criticized by Muslim groups in
Indonesia and Malaysia. However,
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Libya and Syria's support for the Egyptian
government remains strong.
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25/02/2011
