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Protesters
took to Cairo's streets two days after more than 600 people were killed
in violence. egypt friday. Supporters of ousted Egyptian President
Mohammed Morsi march toward downtown Cairo from the Mohandeseen
neighborhood of Cairo, Egypt, on ...
Friday protests in Egypt leave another 37 dead
President Obama makes his first statement on the rapidly deteriorating state in Egypt Thursday morning.
Protesters took to Cairo's streets two days after more than 600 people were killed in violence.
CAIRO –Clashes between security forces and protesters killed another 37 people Friday as tens of thousands of supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood took to streets in defiance of a military-imposed state of emergency.More than 670 people have now been killed in clashes this week.
Protesters poured out of mosques after traditional mid-day prayers in response to the Muslim Brotherhood's call for a "Friday of Anger" against the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi and the deadly violence during a police operation to evict Morsi supporters from protest camps.
Unlike in past clashes between protesters and police, Friday's turmoil took an even darker turn when residents and possibly police in civilian clothing engaged in the violence. Police in uniform were nowhere to be seen as residents fired at one another on a bridge that crosses over Zamalek in Cairo, an upscale island neighborhood where many foreigners and ambassadors reside.
Scenes of chaos tore through the capital as sounds of gunfire crackled through the air. Two motorbikes whipped through the capital's center, carrying two wounded people shot in a throng of protesters.
Protesters said shooting was coming from nearby buildings but that was unclear.
"We don't have weapons. We don't have Kalashnikovs," said Jamal Salam, wearing a robe and with a long grey beard as a helicopter buzzed overhead in the hot afternoon. "And they are shooting us."
Protesters vowed to keep up their demonstrations against Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi who led the July 3 overthrow of former president Morsi.
Armored military vehicles sealed off main squares in the Egyptian capital and troops with machine guns stood at the ready on key junctions. Mohammed Attiya, a pro-Morsi protester speaking via phone from Tanta, a city north of Cairo, said security forces were firing tear gas at demonstrators there as well.
"We can't breathe. We can't see," he said.
At least 638 were killed nationwide Wednesday including 43 police, the Health Ministry said. Most died in violence at two main protest sites positioned on opposite sides of the capital. With bulldozers, tear gas and live ammunition, security forces tore through the sit-ins, where protesters gathered for six weeks denouncing the military coup and demanding Morsi's reinstatement.
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