LATEST: Egypt — Officials Say 60 Killed

Clashes in Ramses Square in Cairo on Friday:

Egypt: Officials Say 60 Killed

Security officials have said that at least 60 people — 52 civilians and eight police officers were killed today in Egypt.

Egypt Video: Footage of Armed Protesters in Cairo

And, in this footage of clashes in Garden City amid fire from security forces, an armed protester at the 0:56 mark:

Egypt Video: The Plea for Peace Before Deadly Fighting in Ismailia

Earlier we posted video of clashes in Ismailia, including footage of a protester being shot, in which four people died.

This is the prequel to the fighting, with protesters chanting “Peaceful! Peaceful!”:

Egypt 1750 GMT: Journalists Count Scores of Bodies Near Ramses Square

Reporters touring the field hospital near Ramses Square, where the main anti-regime rally took place on Friday, are giving figures far higher than the official death toll.

A journalist for Mada Masr counted 45 corpses, while Patrick Kingsley of The Guardian reports:

The Health Ministry is saying that 38 people have been killed across Egypt today — 13 of them in Cairo.

Egypt 1745 GMT: Military “We Will Deal Firmly with Anyone Who Breaks Curfew”

Back from a break to find the Egyptian military has said it will “deal firmly” with anyone who breaks the curfew — due to begin in 15 minutes — in Cairo and 13 other Governorates.

Egypt Video: Not-So-Dramatic Story of Protesters Climbing Down From Bridge in Cairo

One of the dramatic headlines earlier today was that protesters were jumping perilously from the 6 October Bridge in Cairo to avoid gunfire, with photographs appearing to back up the claim.

Video gives a fuller, if less dramatic, story. Amid sounds of gunfire, some men decided to move from the bridge to the underpass, climbing down on cables. In one case, a man slipped and fell, causing concern among the protesters still on the bridge:

Egypt Video: Clashes & Gunfire in Ismailia, Protester Shot

Footage from Ismailia, where at least four people were killed today — a protester is shot at the 44-second mark:

Egypt 1505 GMT: “27 Bodies in One Mosque” in Cairo

Kristen Chick of the Christian Science Monitor shows why the official death toll — currently put at 17 across Egypt — will rise:

Egypt 1455 GMT: 5 Killed in Fayoum

A hospital official said five people have been killed and 70 wounded in Fayoum, south of Cairo.

Egypt: Turkey & Cairo Swap Recall of Envoys; Germany Suspends Military Aid

Turkey and Egypt have recalled their ambassadors from each other’s country after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Egyptian leaders should stand trial for the violence used to disperse anti-regime sit-ins and Turkish President Abdullah Gul called the repression a “shame for Islam and the Arab world”.

Meanwhile, Germany has suspended $25 million in military aid to Cairo.

Egypt 1425 GMT: Interior Ministry to Citizens “Avoid Downtown Cairo As We Battle Terrorists”

Bahrain: At Least 40 Hurt in Prison Protest

At least 40 Bahraini prisoners were hurt on Friday when security forces used batons, tear gas, pepper spray, and stun grenades to disperse a protest by inmates, according to activists.

The Interior Ministry said, “[Prisoners] tried to break the doors, the police interfered and restored order.”

Sayed Yousif of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights said he had received a call from inside the prison telling him that around 100 prisoners, most held for terrorism offences, were protesting over conditions and deprivation of family visits.

Egypt 1403 GMT: Officials Say 17 Dead

The 1st death toll of the day from officials, who say 17 people have been killed across Egypt.

Egypt 1354 GMT: Spokesman of National Salavation Front Resigns

The spokesman of the National Salvation Front, which supported the July 3 coup, has quit — a day after the NSF’s leader Mohamed ElBaradel resigned as Vice President for International Affairs.

On Wednesday, the NSF had declared supported for the break-up of anti-regime sit-ins.

Egypt GMT: Protesters Killed in Ramses Square

Jeremy Bowen of the BBC:

Egypt Video: Fleeing Gunfire in Zamalek Area of Cairo; Defying It in Ramses Square

Meanwhile, at the anti-regime rally in Ramses Square, protesters defy nearby gunshots:

Egypt: 7 Soldiers Killed in Sinai

Security officials have said that insurgents in the Sinai Peninsula on Thursday killed seven soldiers in an attack on a checkpoint on Thursday.

Gunmen in two cars attacked the troops in their tents near a police station in the northern town of El-Arish.

Both Islamists and Bedouins have carried out regular attacks on security forces and pipelines in the Sinai, with the incidents escalating since the coup of July 3.

Egypt 1326 GMT: Picture — Armed Men on Cairo Bridge

Images of armed men on Cairo bridges — but are they with the protesters? A civilian group opposed to the protests? Plainclothes security forces? And who are they firing upon?

Egypt 1321 GMT: Picture — Man Jumps Off Bridge As Clashes Escalate

Reports are circulating of people jumping off bridges amid clashes in Cairo:

Egypt 1314 GMT: 8 Killed in Damietta, 4 in Ismailia

Reuters, citing medical sources, says eight people have been killed in the port of Damietta and four in the Canal city of Ismailia.

Egypt 1301 GMT: Fighting Near Ramses Square Police Station in Cairo

One of the scenes of fighting is at the police station near Ramses Square, where anti-regime protesters have gathered:

State TV is showing footage of armed men — presumably anti-regime — crossing the 15 May Bridge.

Lebanon Picture: Touring The Carnage of Thursday’s Car Bomb

An image from the scene of Thursday’s car bombing in a southern suburb of Beirut, which killed at least 22 people:

Egypt: Clashes Begin in Cairo

Egypt Pictures: Anti-Regime Marches Begin After Prayers

Meanwhile, the military takes up positions at key points:

Egypt: Foreign Journalists Must Be Approved By Intelligence Services & Interior Ministry

Egyptian authorities have amended the procedure for accreditation of foreign journalists, requiring the approval of the intelligence services and Ministry of Interior
.
“No foreign journalist will be accredited without the approval of Egyptian General Intelligence Service, Ministry of Interior and Office of Military Intelligence Services and temporary admission permit will not be granted unless permission is given for the equipments they will bring along,” a statement announced.

Egypt: Another View of Violence — The Attack on Kerdasa Police Station

The Wall Street Journal turns the focus on this week’s mass killings in Egypt to violence by supporters of ousted President Morsi, profiling an attack on a police staton near Cairo that killed 11 officers and burned the building.

The Journal highlights the interim Government’s claim that Muslim Brotherhood followers have attacked at least 12 Government buildings and burned churches across Egypt.

Libya: PM “We Will Bomb” if Striking Guards Sell Oil Independently

Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has threatened to use force to prevent striking guards from selling oil independently at the country’s main ports.

Zeidan said any ship approaching the ports which does not have a contract with Libya’s official oil company would be “bombed from the sea or the air”: “If the blockade of these oil terminals continues, the state will be obliged to use its power, and all the forces at its disposal, including the army.”

The workers have been striking over pay for several weeks, closing the ports of Zeitunia, Brega, Ras Lanouf, and Sedra.

Libya’s oil production has fallen from a peak of 1.6 million barrels per day to around 650,000 bpd, the lowest level since the uprising that ousted the Qaddafi regime in 2011.

Oil Minister Abdelbari al-Arusi said Libya had lost about $1.6 billion in revenue since July 25 because of the disruption.

Lebanon: At Least 21 Killed in Thursday’s Car Bomb

The death toll from Thursday’s car bombing in a southern suburb of Beirut is now at least 21, with 250 injured, according to Lebanese officials.

LEBANON 15-08-13 BEIRUT CAR BOMB

A little-known Sunni group, the Brigades of Aisha, has claimed the attack in Ruwaiss, as well as a July 9 car bomb in a near-by suburb which injured 51 people. Hezbollah is prominent in the areas of both bombings.

The video claim from the Brigades of Aisha:

And its claim of the July 9 car bomb:

Sources said investigators are looking at witness reports that a suicide bomber detonated the car in the middle the road on Thursday.

Egypt: “I Wondered It Had Been Humans Who Were Attacking Us”

Islam Abdel Rahman, who gave first aid to victims in the Rabaa field hospital on Wednesday, posts a powerful testimony on Facebook:

I walked away wondering really if it has been humans who were attacking us or not. The shooting was for killing and the massive injuries was beyond imagination. I would never believe I would live to see killed Egyptians on the streets and hospitals being burnt down with patients inside.

Egypt: Call for “Friday of Anger” After At Least 638 Die on Wednesday

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has called for a “Friday of Anger”, two days after security forces killed hundreds of supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi.

The Brotherhood asked protesters to march from all mosques of Cairo after prayers towards Ramses Square: “Despite the pain and sorrow over the loss of our martyrs, the latest coup makers’ crime has increased our determination to end them.”

The official death toll from Wednesday, when police and the military overran pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo and violence spread across Egypt, is now 638 with almost 4,000 injured.

Of those killed, 288 were in the biggest sit-in, at Rabaa El-Adewaya Square, while 90 were slain in the al-Nahda Square protest.

As families searched for bodies in make-shift morgues, a mass funeral was held in Cairo for some of the security forces killed on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Interior claims 43 police officers died in fighting.

State media focuses this morning on the burning of Christian churches on Thursday.

Citing the Coptic Christian group Maspero Youth Union, Ahram Online claims up to 36 churches were damaged across nine Governorates, including Minya, Sohag, and Assiut.

One of Wednesday’s victims, shot as he tried to rescue a wounded man in Rabaa El-Adewaya Square: