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Reporters run for cover during clashes between upporters of Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Morsi, and police in Cairo/AFP

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Almost 280 killed as Egypt police storm protests

Shortly after dawn on Wednesday, witnesses and an AFP correspondent said security forces fired tear gas before surging into Rabaa al Adawiya, sparking pandemonium among the thousands of protesters who had set up the camp soon after Morsi was ousted in a military coup on July 3.

Men in gas masks rushed to grab each canister and dunk them in containers of water, as the main stage near the mosque of the camp blared Islamic anthems and protesters chanted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest).

Many Morsi supporters were given safe passage out of the camp, some flashing victory signs as they left through a security corridor.

A security official told AFP that hundreds of people were taking advantage of the safe passage offer, but that some diehards had stayed behind to fight on.

By Wednesday evening, a security official said Rabaa al Adawiya was “totally under control”, adding: “There are no more clashes”.

In the smaller of the protest camps, at Al Nahda square in central Cairo, police said they had control of the area after two hours.

Television footage showed flattened tents, as women and children flanked by police and army troops were led out of the square.

Dozens rounded up in the dispersal were shown sitting on the ground, handcuffed and surrounded by security forces.

Authorities later said calm had been restored across the country.

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Europe’s leading powers, along with Iran, Qatar and Turkey, strongly denounced the use of force by the interim government.

The White House said Washington, which provides Egypt with $1.3 billion in annual military aid, “strongly condemns” the violence against the protesters and opposes the imposition of a state of emergency.

Interim prime minister Hazem al Beblawi praised the police for their “self restraint” and said the government remained committed to an army drafted roadmap that calls for elections in 2014.

Clashes also erupted between security forces and Morsi supporters in the northern provinces of Alexandria and Beheira, the canal provinces of Suez and Ismailiya, and the central provinces of Assiut and Menya.

In Alexandria, hundreds of angry Morsi supporters marched through the streets armed with wooden clubs chanting “Morsi is my president”.

An AFP reporter said they set fire to tyres and tore down pictures of army chief Abdel Fattah al Sisi, who led the coup against Morsi.

It was a dramatic turn of events for the Muslim Brotherhood, who just over a year ago celebrated Morsi’s victory as Egypt’s first elected president.

His turbulent year in power, marred by political turmoil, deadly clashes and a crippling economic crisis, turned many against the Islamist movement, with millions taking to the streets on June 30 to call for his removal.

 

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