Egypt declares state of emergency

Egypt's interim president has declared a month-long state of emergency to combat violence that has claimed dozens of lives.

Egypt has declared a month-long state of emergency as violence rages across the country following a crackdown on supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

The nationwide state of emergency started on Wednesday at 4pm, the presidency said in a statement read out on state television.

The exceptional measures came as "the security and order of the nation face danger due to deliberate sabotage, and attacks on public and private buildings and the loss of life by extremist groups," the presidency said.

Interim president Adly Mansour "has tasked the armed forces, in cooperation with the police, to take all necessary measures to maintain security and order and to protect public and private property and the lives of citizens.

Security forces on Wednesday stormed two huge Cairo protest camps occupied for weeks by supporters of Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Morsi, leaving at least 124 people dead in a crackdown that turned into a bloodbath.

A TV cameraman for Britain's Sky News, Mick Deane, was shot dead while covering the clashes, the network said.

And the teenage daughter of a senior Muslim Brotherhood leader was also reported among those killed.

Seventeen-year-old Asmaa al-Beltagui, daughter of wanted Brotherhood leader Mohammed al-Beltagui, was killed in clashes at the Rabaa al-Adawiya protest camp, Brotherhood spokesman Gehad al-Haddad said.

A spokeswoman for the main pro-Morsi coalition, the Anti-Coup Alliance, told AFP the girl had been shot twice, once in the chest and once in the back.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday condemned a police crackdown on protesters in Egypt that he said had left hundreds dead and injured.

"In the aftermath of today's violence, the secretary-general urges all Egyptians to concentrate their efforts on promoting genuinely inclusive reconciliation," his spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

An AFP correspondent counted at least 124 bodies in makeshift morgues.

The Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi emerged, said 2200 people had been killed and over 10,000 injured.

Egypt's Health Ministry said 95 people had been killed and more than 840 wounded in clashes across the country.


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Source: AAP



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