Cairo mosque cleared of most protesters

 

Al jazeera -- Security forces clear majority of anti-coup protesters from Fateh mosque, as talks are held with those still inside.

Police have reportedly cleared a Cairo mosque of many of the anti-coup protesters trapped inside, following a day-long siege punctuated by gunfire, tear gas volleys and mob attacks.

The Fateh mosque in Ramses Square was evacuated on Saturday of the bulk of protesters who had been trapped inside since violence flared in the square on Friday evening. Those inside had refused to leave for fear of being attacked by what they described as "thugs" among the crowds waiting outside.
However, about 100 people remained inside, and reports suggested that clerics from the Al Azhar religious institution had arrived to mediate between those left inside and the police.

Those still inside feared attack from crowds gathered around the mosque, which were opposed to the anti-coup protesters and had attacked others who had left the building earlier.
Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna, reporting from Cairo, said that it was unclear where those who had been removed from the mosque had been taken by police.
"There have been various reports about what happenend. Witnesses said some had been taken by the army beyond the crowds outside, some were taken into military or police custody. The police had said earlier that there were some inside they wanted to investigate for an attack on a building nearby."
The police action to clear the building came after security forces claimed to have come under attack from gunmen hiding in the building's minarets. Television footage showed security forces firing volley after volley at the building and its minarets.
The protesters inside the mosque denied any link to those firing at the police, saying there was no access to the top of the minarets from inside the building.
One man, Waleed Attar, was among a group who managed to escape the building as gunfire erupted. He told Al Jazeera: "We didn't know where the bullets were coming from."
He said they managed to flee and avoid "thugs" waiting outside. "We found our way between vehicles before the thugs could trap us, we ran for fear of being shot. Many of those trapped were being assaulted by thugs. They said we would all be slaughtered."
Earlier, speaking to Al Jazeera by phone from inside, protester Omaima Halawa said there was shooting inside and outside the building. Cracks of automatic gunfire and screaming could be heard in the background as she spoke. Halawa said there were about 700 people inside, including women and children.

Egyptian PM Beblawi's statement on Friday's violence

Anti-coup protesters found refuge in the mosque late on Friday after a "day of rage" protests called by opponents of the country's military-led leadership turned to bloodshed.
Reports said at least 95 people were killed in Ramses Square when security forces fired on marchers - the worst violence witnessed on Friday. The Fateh mosque was turned into both a morgue and a field hospital for those injured.
At least 173 people were killed and 1,330 others were injured nationwide on Friday, according to a government spokesman.
Friday's marches were organised in response to police action on Wendesday to remove protesters from sit-ins calling for the return of the deposed president, Mohamed Morsi, and the end of military rule. An estimated 600 people were killed in the operation.
On Saturday evening, fresh protests were held in the Cairo suburbs of Helwan and Giza, and the city of Alexandria, in defiance of a sunset curfew imposed by the interim regime.