Bloodbath in Cairo: More than 120 dead and 1,000 injured after police 'shoot to kill' in violent clashes which have rocked Egypt

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT

Hundreds of thousands turned out across Egypt for pro-army demonstrations



They clashed with supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi who also lined the streets

Morsi has been formally accused of conspiring with Palestinian group Hamas and of murdering prison officers

The fighting is the country's bloodiest incidence of violence since the army deposed Morsi earlier this month




More than 120 people are believed to have been killed at a protest in support of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi, according to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Security forces are reported to have started shooting demonstrators shortly before pre-dawn morning prayers at a round-the-clock vigil in Cairo being staged by backers of Morsi, who was removed from power by the army three weeks ago.

Makeshift field hospitals around the area near the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque were overwhelmed, with one doctor telling the BBC that more than 1,000 had been injured.

Scroll down for videos

Anguish: Up to 120 people are reported dead in Cairo after defiant supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi were protesting his removal from power

Battleground: Central Cairo looked like a warzone as residents walked home around the makeshift road blocks

Clashes: Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted president Mohamed Morsi fighting with opponents to Morsi in the distance Another round of violence: Flowers are placed next to a trail of blood at the scene of clashes in Cairo yesterday

Deadly violence: The bodies of killed supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi in a field hospital at Rabaa Adawiya mosque following clashes with security forces in Cairo

Makeshift morgue: The Muslim Brotherhood are putting the death toll at around 120 people

Grief: Relatives mourning outside a field hospital at Rabaa Adawiya mosque on Saturday

Followers: This image released by the Egyptian army of Friday evening's pro-army rally shows the strength of support for the security forces and against the ousted president Morsi

Demonstration: Hundreds of thousands took to the streets as supporters of the army heeded a call to rally

Support: Demonstrations like this pro-army gathering in Tahrir Square on Friday night were met with counter-protests by Morsi followers

The state health ministry currently says that only 65 people had died and 750 suffered injuries.

However, Al Jazeera Egypt reported that some 4,500 may have been injured in the early morning violence.

Military-backed authorities were feeling emboldened today after millions turned out for nationwide rallies on Friday called by the army chief.

A leading figure of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed el-Beltagy, blamed the violence on army chief General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's call for rallies on Friday.

Hundreds of thousands of people came onto the streets after army chief General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who played a central role in overthrowing the president, called for Egyptians to rally to give him a mandate to tackle 'violence and terrorism'.

Support: A Egyptian man waves national flags as an army helicopter flies over supporters of the army in Tahrir Square

Show of strength: Supporters of the army gathered in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Friday

Lights: Hundreds of laser lights were shone into the sky by demonstrators in Tahrir Square who rallied to show support for the army

Reporters at the scene said firing could still be heard hours after the troubles started.



' They are not shooting to wound, they are shooting to kill,' said pro-Morsi Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad.

The deaths occurred hours after supporters and opponents of Morsi staged mass rival rallies across the country.

Ragab Nayel Ali, one of the pro-Morsi protesters, said security forces fired first with tear gas and birdshot.



'Protesters replied by hurling rocks and started building walls,' said Ali, who was injured in an accident as he ferried wounded on his motorcycle from the fighting to a field hospital.



Clash: Security forces fired rounds of teargas at pro-Morsi supporters at a vigil in Cairo

Barricade: Supporters of the deposed president throw stones from behind a makeshift wall as they take cover from the police during clashes in Cairo

Explosion: Fireworks are set off near police and pro-army protesters by supporters of Morsi

Warzone: The streets of Cairo descended into chaos as supporters of the army clashed with pro-Morsi demonstrators

Confusion: Security forces said they had fired teargas at pro-Morsi supporters but denied shooting at them

Aftermath: Supporters of President Morsi lay flowers near a puddle of blood, while a woman cries outside a field hospital in the Nasr area of the city



Destruction: Stones and flowers are laid next to a trail of blood that has splattered across a tiled floor during the clashes in the early hours of Saturday

The fighting is the country's bloodiest incidence of violence since the army deposed Mohammed Morsi earlier this month.



British Foreign Secretary William Hague said: 'I am deeply concerned by recent events in Egypt, and condemn the use of force against protesters which has led to the loss of lives.'

But Muslim Brotherhood supporters also staged mass counter-rallies, demanding the reinstatement of Morsi, who was placed under investigation on Friday for a raft of crimes, including murder.

More than 200 people have died in violence since the overthrow of Morsi, including at least nine on Friday, most of them Brotherhood supporters.

Mr Haddad said the latest deaths came after police started firing repeated rounds of teargas around 3am at protesters who had spilled out of the main area of the Rabaa sit-in.

'Through the smog of the gas, the bullets started flying,' he said.



Security: A military helicopter patrols the skies above Tahrir Square where hundreds of thousands of supporters of the army gathered on Friday

Flares: Fireworks were let off above the crowds at the presidential palace in Cairo

Split: Both the army and the ousted president have thousands of supporters in Egypt

Conflict: Police stand back as teargas is fired into a crowd in Cairo in the early hours of Saturday morning

He claimed 'special police forces in black uniforms' were firing live rounds and that snipers shot from the roofs of a university, buildings in the area, and a bridge.

State news agency MENA quoted an unnamed security source as saying that only teargas was used to disperse protesters. He said no firearms were used.

Mr Haddad said the pro-Morsi supporters had used rocks to try to defend themselves.



On the podium outside the Rabaa mosque, a speaker urged people to retreat from the gunfire, but Mr Haddad said 'men stayed to defend themselves because women and children are inside the sit-in'.

Accusations: The clashes came as Morsi was accused of crimes including murder Distress: An injured supporter of Morsi kneels on the ground after clashes with riot police in the capital

Injuries: A supporter of the ousted president is rushed to a field hospital in the Nasr area of Cairo

Attack: A spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood claimed hundreds of people were injured when security forces shot at them in the early hours on Saturday

Treatment: At least 70 people are thought to have died, while scores of the injured were rushed to a field hospital

Makeshift: An injured man is rushed through the crowds to a field hospital on the back of a moped

Help: A pro-Morsi supporter is treated in a field hospital following clashes between security forces and demonstrators

Senior Brotherhood politician Saad el-Hosseini said: ' I have been trying to make the youth withdraw for five hours. I can't. They are saying have paid with their blood and they do not want to retreat.'

Egypt's army-installed interior minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, said on Friday that the month-old Cairo vigils by Morsi supporters would be 'brought to an end, soon and in a legal manner', state-run al Ahram news website reported.

Yesterday the country's new rulers accused Morsi of conspiring with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and plotting to attack police stations, army officers and prisons during the 2011 uprising against former president Hosni Mubarak.

During the 2011 struggles, he had escaped from a prison and has now been accused of the 'premeditated killing of officers, soldiers and prisoners'.



Ousted: Former president Mohammed Morsi has been formally accused of a raft of crimes and is expected to be charged

Backing: Supporters of Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Morsi take part in a demonstration in the city of Alexandria, where at least five people died

The announcement by prosecutors of the investigation against Morsi is likely to pave the way to a formal indictment and eventually a trial.

It was the first news of his legal status since he was deposed by the military on July 3. Since then, the Islamist leader has been held incommunicado in a secret location.



Besides Morsi, five other senior figures from the group have been detained. Hassan Mohammed, a 30-year old teacher who came from southern Egypt to join the pro-Morsi rally, remained steadfast.

