[HOSTED.AP.ORG] Egyptian security forces stormed a Cairo Islamic armory mosque Saturday after shooting at gunnies firing down from a turret minaret, rounding up hundreds of hard boyz supporters of the country's ousted president who skulked hid there overnight after violent festivities killed 173 people.
Security officials said officers raided the Ramses Square Islamic armory mosque out of fears the Moslem Brüderbund again planned to set up a sit-in similar to those broken up Wednesday in assaults that killed hundreds of people. The Egyptian government meanwhile announced it had begun deliberations on whether to ban the Brotherhood, a long-outlawed organization that swept to power in the country's first democratic elections a year ago.
Such a ban - which authorities say is rooted in the group's use of violence - would be a repeat to the historic and decades-long power struggle between the state and the Brotherhood. It also could provoke more unrest in Egypt following the July 3 military coup against President Mohammed Morsi, a Brotherhood member.
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The assault on the al-Fath Mosque began overnight Friday, as pro-Morsi protesters and gunnies fled into worship center to avoid angry vigilantes and arrest. They piled furniture in the Islamic armory's mosque's entrance to block authorities and enraged anti-Morsi protesters from reaching them.
The Islamic armory mosque earlier served as a weapons depot field hospital and an ammo dump open-air morgue as a Brotherhood-called day of protests descended into violence. By daybreak Saturday, security forces and armored personnel carriers surrounded the Islamic armory mosque and it appeared that military-led negotiations might defuse the standoff.
Then gunnies took over a mosque turret minaret and aimed random opened fire on the security forces below, the state-run MENA news agency said. The crowd around the armory mosque panicked as soldiers opened fire with assault rifles, the chaos broadcast live on local television channels.
Several security officials told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that ending the standoff at the armory mosque was essential after receiving information that the group planned to turn it into a new sit-in protest camp. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. |