Armed attacks by unidentified civilians on protesters raises nationwide death toll to 15

Via Ahram Online

An Egyptian man, center, gestures to protestors asking them to stop throwing stones at security forces during clashes near the Interior Ministry in Cairo on 5 February (Photo: AP)

Egypt’s health ministry on Tuesday announced that the countrywide death toll due to ongoing clashes between protesters and security forces – which erupted in the wake of Wednesday's Port Said disaster that saw 74 football fans killed – had risen to 15 following the death of two civilians in downtown Cairo Monday evening.

A young man was thrown from the tax administration building, situated adjacent to Egypt’s interior ministry, while another was fatally wounded by birdshot. Both men were rushed to the nearby Qasr El-Ainy Hospital before succumbing to their injuries.

No other deaths were reported in other governorates on Monday, according to health ministry officials.

As of press time on Tuesday, tensions in and around Cairo’s Tahrir Square had subsided, although close observers of the situation did not rule out the likelihood of renewed clashes.

For the last five days, on-again, off-again fighting has raged between protesters opposed to military rule and police near the interior ministry. The two latest victims, however, were killed at the hands of men in plainclothes, according to eyewitnesses.

Mahmoud Hani, a 21-year-old filmmaker, witnessed Monday's turmoil, which lasted into the early hours of the next day.

He said the identity of the assailants – who carried various firearms – remained unknown, although some have suggested they were actually undercover policemen. Hani also asserted that several people had been injured in the battle, but he could not confirm any deaths.

"There was a lull in the fighting Monday afternoon after police went to the interior ministry at around 5:30pm," he told Ahram Online. "At around 8pm we received reports that civilians had begun shooting on Mohamed Mahmoud Street.

"At around 10pm we could hear machinegun and shotgun fire emanating from Noubar Street. Later we could see birdshot on the ground.

 

via english.ahram.org.eg

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