CAIRO, July 8 (RIA Novosti) – At least 51 people have been reported killed and 435 injured in violent clashes that ignited Sunday night outside a military command post in Cairo where deposed President Mohammed Morsi is believed to be held.
Various Egyptian political forces have given conflicting reports of what triggered the violence. The numbers of dead and wounded were released by Egypt’s health ministry on Monday.
Morsi’s Freedom and Justice Party, a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, accused the army of unleashing gunfire on innocent activists who had been holding a peaceful sit-in protest outside the Republican Guard headquarters to demand the president’s return.
However, the military said in an official statement published by the widely circulated Al-Ahram newspaper that servicemen had been shooting at armed members of a “terrorist group” who attempted to storm the building.
Morsi has been held by the Egyptian armed forces since his deposition last week. Muslim Brotherhood supporters have repeatedly threatened to free him through the use of force.
Egypt’s interim president, Adly Mansour, ordered a commission to be set up to investigate the violence outside the Republican Guard headquarters.
