THOUSANDS are now feared dead and the country stands on the brink of civil war. HUNDREDS of people were killed in a horrific massacre in Egypt yesterday – including a British TV cameraman
assassinated by a sniper. The country now stands on the brink of a brutal all-out civil war following 24 hours of carnage.
Dad-of-two Mick Deane, 61, was shot dead as he filmed for Sky News in the capital Cairo, capturing the bloody scenes as government troops cracked down on supporters of deposed president Mohammed Morsi.
PM David Cameron was among many who paid tribute to the veteran newsman, who had filmed conflicts across the globe.
A colleague told how Deane was shot inside the Rabaa al-Adawiya camp, where security forces have been trying to clear pro-Morsi demonstrators.
He said: “Mick was about to lift the camera on his shoulder when a sniper opened fired and killed him instantly.”
Shot dead: Sky News cameraman Mick DeaneSKY
There was global outrage at the slaughter, which included women and children being burned alive as they sheltered in tents.
The whole of Egypt was put on a state of emergency and curfews were imposed in major cities as world leaders including Barack Obama begged for calm.
Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood party described the violent offensive as a “massacre” and estimated that as
many as 2000 people had died.
The official death toll stood at 278 last night but is expected to rise dramatically.
In Cairo alone, more than 140 protesters are believed to have been killed as two protest camps were stormed with armoured bulldozers.
Witnesses claimed snipers fired on women and children from rooftops.
The first camp at Nahda Square, near Cairo University, was cleared quickly.
Family mourns death of loved ones killed in crackdownGetty Images
But tens of thousands who had gathered outside the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in Nasr City confronted riot police wearing gas masks and crouched behind armoured vehicles.
Tear gas was fired from the rooftops on to the crowds below and automatic gunfire broke out from both sides.
After the assault on the camp began, desperate residents recited verses from the Koran and screamed: “God help us! God help us!”
Deane was killed trying to film the horrific events for the world to see.
Tim Marshall, Sky’s foreign affairs editor, said: “Our hearts go out to his family. He died doing what he’d done so brilliantly for decades.”
Cameron tweeted: “I am saddened to hear of the death of cameraman Mick Deane, covering Egyptian violence.
“My thoughts are with his family and the Sky News team.”
Egypt’s vice-president, Mohammed El Baradei, announced his resignation from the interim government in the wake of yesterday’s violence.
Wounded supporter of deposed president is treated by medicsGetty Images
Meanwhile, the Egyptian military released footage which they claimed showed pro-Morsi followers firing on soldiers with automatic weapons.
The interim Egyptian government urged Morsi’s supporters to listen to the voice of reason and stop the violence.
They also praised the security forces for their restraint – although witnesses said troops had fired indiscriminately into the crowd.
At a morgue near the mosque, the bodies of 29 people including that of a 12-year-old boy were laid out. Most had died of gunshot wounds to the head.
Teacher Saleh Abdulaziz, 39, clutching a bleeding headwound, said: “At 7am they came – helicopters from the top and bulldozers from below. They smashed through our walls.
“Police and soldiers fired tear gas at children. They continued to fire at protesters even when we begged
them to stop.”
Student protester Khaled Ahmed, 20, said: “Tear gas canisters were falling from the sky like rain.
“There are no ambulances inside – they closed every entrance.
“There are women and children in there. God help them. This is a siege, a military attack on a civilian protest camp.”
Senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed al Beltagy, whose 17-year-old daughter was killed yesterday, warned that the military were turning Egypt into another Syria.
Abdul Mawgoud Dardery, of the anti-coup National Alliance, said: “Today is a tragic day in Egypt.”
He blamed corrupt elements in the Egyptian army for the violence, calling their actions “a crime against humanity”.
Trouble also flared elsewhere in Egypt, with the Nile Delta cities of Minya and Assiut and Alexandria on the north coast hit by violence.
The health ministry confirmed that 35 people were killed in the province of Fayoum, south of Cairo. Five more died in Suez.
There were no reports of trouble at holiday destinations popular with Britons such as Sharm el-Sheikh.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said last night: “The world is watching what is happening in Cairo. We urge the government of Egypt and all parties to refrain from violence and resolve their differences peacefully.”
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said: “I condemn the use of force in clearing protests and call on the
security forces to act with restraint.”
Follow GistaNaija on Twitter @GistaNaija and Facebook GistaNigeria
Weird Stories | Small Business Guide | Infotech Arena Tech News
No comments:
Post a Comment
Add A Comment