WARNING: The amateur video below contains graphic footage that may not be suitable for some viewers
Newly authenticated video shows protesters loyal to ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi being gunned down by Egyptian forces on the streets of Cairo Wednesday.
Amateur video, authenticated by The Associated Press and released on Friday, shows crowds of protesters pelting rocks at armoured vehicles, amid a crackdown on two pro-Morsi camps.
Moments after moving toward the crowd, forces began firing on the protesters.
To view our full coverage of the crackdowns in Egypt, click here
The footage illustrates how intense the violence is in the Egyptian capital, with blood soaked streets, wounded individuals being carried away on makeshift stretchers and others taking cover behind low concrete walls.
WARNING: This amateur video contains graphic footage that may not be suitable for some viewers
At one point, a loudspeaker announcement instructs the crowd to evacuate and promises safe passage, but moments later another vehicle approaches with the barrel of a weapon emerging from one of its gun ports.
The Associated Press authenticated the video based on landmarks and reporting from Wednesday’s crackdown.
The crackdown on pro-Morsi protesters began on Wednesday, with police using bulldozers and tear gas to push demonstrators out of two encampments. Police fired on protesters, prompting clashes that have lasted for three days now.
Egypt’s government put the country under a month-long state of emergency and put a curfew in place in Cairo and in 10 other provinces.
On Thursday, interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi authorized police to use deadly force to protect themselves and government buildings.
As of Friday afternoon, 37 people had been killed in the day’s clashes. That’s in addition to the Ministry of Health’s official death toll, released Thursday, of 638 people. That number includes the deaths of 43 police officers.
There have been questions raised about the official death toll numbers, released by the government.
Morsi supporters say the number is much higher and bodies taken to mosques have not been taken into account.
Read more: Former Morsi-government adviser in Canada, calls Egypt violence ‘genocide’
*Note: An earlier version of this story reported the video was taken on Friday. It was captured on Wednesday, authenticated by The Associated Press and released on Friday.
Comments