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Violent Clash in Egypt: Death Toll More than 500

Authorities in Egypt have indicated that the death toll in the clashes between protesters and military and police forces have risen to more than 500 people. The supporters of the former Islamist president Morsi regret that he was ousted and claim that this was a ‘military coup.’

The interim government has declared a state of emergency and has initiated an evening curfew. Morsi’s supporters have burned the buildings of Giza, and put to torch the houses of the provincial government.  The Ministry of Health figures that the death toll is at least 525 currently, while this many deaths, they contend, have outnumbered any that have happened since the ousting of Hosni Mubarak. The number of injured have been counted at almost 4,000 people, as noted by Khaled-el Khateeb, a spokesman for the Egyptian Ministry of Health.

The Islamist group The Muslim Brotherhood, who claims responsibility for ousting former President Mohammed Morsi has their own death and injury statistics. They have counted that at least 2600 people have died and that another 10,000 are injured. However their information may be seen to be at odds with the numbers published by local and international media. The blood-soaked dead are wrapped in sheets and kept in mosques. The names of the dead are written on the sheets covering them. They are unclaimed by families and some people have claimed that authorities are preventing them from getting the permits necessary to bury their dead, according to the Huffington Post.

A woman wearing a traditional Islamic head-to-toe niqab vented her plight, “they accuse us of setting fire to ourselves. Then, they accuse us of torturing people and dumping their bodies. Now, they kill us and then blame us. Police funerals have been held in the city for the troops that died in the clash of violence between authorities and protesters, while the Brotherhood has “called for fresh protests.” The Brotherhood commented that they want a civilian Egypt, not a religious state, and not a military state.

Jaan: