Egyptian troops engaged in a brutal clash with pro-Morsi protesters on Wednesday, leaving at least 95 people dead at a campground in Cairo.
Wednesday morning's assault shocked some demonstrators with its violence, according to the New York Times. According to reporters in the capital city, security officers traveled to the site in hopes of clearing the large number of Morsi supporters who had gathered there. Upon arrival, violence ensued; gunfire rained down from both sides, amidst grey films of smoke from tear gas bombs. Protestors checked into nearby hospitals in droves with bullet wounds and burns.
Reuters reported that seven hours into the fight, masses of demonstrators still stood in the middle of roads, calling out to the troops that clamored to stop them. As they waved flags and yelled, more smoke filled the air from burning tires in the distance.
"At 7 a.m. they came," 39-year-old school teacher Saleh Abdulaziz told Reuters as he attempted to staunch the flow of blood coming from his head. "Helicopters from the top and bulldozers from below. They smashed through our walls. Police and soldiers, they fired tear gas at children. They continued to fire at protesters even when we begged them to stop."
20-year-old student demonstrator Khaled Ahmed told Reuters that, "tear gas [canisters] were falling from the sky."
Members of the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested during the battle, and a few police officers were reported dead. The official number of casualties has not yet been set-some Muslim Brotherhood members told the New York Times the "massacre" resulted in more than 100 dead. Others tallied the deceased could range between 56 and 124.
Security forces managed to clear a second camp located near Cairo University earlier on in the morning.
More than a month after the former leader was thrown from power as a result of a military coup, tens of thousands of supporters-many of them, members of the Muslim Brotherhood-have rallied continuously to put Morsi back in office, causing an enormous rift in the nation, in addition to widespread bloodshed.
Reuters reported that over 300 people have died in the six weeks following Morsi's ousting from office, and the clash between supporters and secular forces has only caused a deeper divide within citizens of the country.
According to CNN, Morsi has not been seen in public since being removed from his position of power.
