Cairo, Egypt - 5 hours ago
Tent camps turned to bloody war zone: 'Just the beginning' for Egypt
updated 1:07 PM EDT, Wed August 14, 2013
Cairo (CNN) -- In a matter of hours Wednesday, two peaceful protest camps in Cairo turned into unrecognizable war zones. And the violence is still under way.
"I think what we're seeing right now is just the beginning of what is promising to be a very, very long and bloody battle as the interim government and the security forces try to regain control of the streets," CNN's Arwa Damon reported from Cairo.
At least 149 people have been killed in clashes between Egyptian security forces and supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsy, state TV reported. More than 1,400 have been wounded.
The Muslim Brotherhood said earlier that 200 Morsy supporters were killed and more than 8,000 were injured. But the party has given exaggerated figures in the past, only to revise them later.
In another development, Mohammed ElBaradei resigned as vice president of foreign affairs, state-run Nile TV reported.
Egypt declared a month-long state of emergency beginning at 4 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET), according to state television. A curfew was also established in several cities including Cairo, from 7 p.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. Thursday -- and all violators will be jailed, state news reported.
The violence began with Egyptian security forces storming the two massive makeshift camps filled with Morsy supporters, bulldozing tents and escorting away hundreds of protesters.
Chaos ensued. Many protesters refused to leave, even in the face of bulldozers and surrounded by the injured and dead. "They said they're prepared to die," CNN's Reza Sayah reported from Cairo.
"It's an open war," one protester told Sayah.
Along with smoke, bursts of rapid gunfire continued to fill the air. It was unclear who had the weapons, and who was shooting at whom. People could be heard wailing.
State TV reported that snipers from the Muslim Brotherhood -- Morsy's party -- were exchanging gunfire with Egyptian security forces near a university building.
Sky News cameraman Mick Deane was killed, the UK-based news channel reported. Deane had worked for Sky for 15 years -- and for CNN well before that. The rest of the team was unhurt.
Reuters photo journalist, Asmaa Waguih was shot and wounded Wednesday covering the clashes, the news agency told CNN. She is being treated in a hospital.
Habiba Abdel Aziz of Gulf News, in Egypt in a personal capacity having celebrated the Eid holiday, was also killed, editor-at-large Francis Matthew told CNN.
'Walking on the blood of the victims'
"I have personally never seen this much bloodshed in what, according to what we've seen over the past six weeks, had been a peaceful demonstration," Sayah said.
Visiting makeshift hospitals, a CNN crew was "literally walking on the blood of the victims," he said.
Security forces "literally pushed the doctors" out of a hospital "at gunpoint," one witness told CNN.
One man who appeared bloodied told CNN his friends were killed.
The fighting wasn't limited to Cairo. Morsy supporters besieged various churches in Sohag, setting fire to Saint George's Church, a tour bus and a police car, Egypt's state-run EgyNews reported.
Interior Ministry sources told CNN that Muslim Brotherhood supporters also attacked three police stations around Egypt.
Naguib Sawiris, an Egyptian billionaire who helped found the anti-Morsy Free Egyptian Party, said his party had video of Muslim Brotherhood members "shooting machine guns on civilians, on police. So anyone who wants to call this a peaceful demonstration would be wrong."
He also insisted, "This is no war zone."
But Ahmed Mustafa, Muslim Brotherhood spokesman, told CNN from London that Sawiris was trying to misrepresent video of masked
CNN's Ian Lee reported from Cairo; CNN's Holly Yan and Josh Levs reported from Atlanta; CNN's Saad Abedine and Salma Abdelaziz contributed to this report.
