Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- All agree that scores angry at
Egypt's military-backed government and the ouster of President Mohamed
Morsy died in late-night clashes in the volatile nation's capital.
But they are of opposite minds as to who began firing first and who is to blame.
Dr. Mohammed Ali Sultan,
chairman of Egypt's ambulance services, told CNN that 72 had been killed
in Nasr City, an area of Cairo the Muslim Brotherhood has made its base
after the group's former leader was forced from power and ordered
jailed.
Medics in a Brotherhood
field hospital there earlier Saturday had put the death toll at 66, with
another 61 on life support and thousands more wounded.
How did they end up in such straits?
Ask the Muslim
Brotherhood -- the Islamist group that was sidelined under longtime
Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak only to become the country's dominant
political force after his forced exit in 2011 -- and its members will
say police fired live ammunition on protesters Friday and Saturday.
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Tahrir Square filled at general's urging
A wounded protester
getting medical treatment at a field hospital said he saw men in
plainclothes fire on pro-Morsy demonstrators with shotguns.
He referred to them as "thugs," a term commonly used for young men who support the government and resort to violence.
"Police forces were
standing behind them. Also, military forces were outside blocking three
entrances to Rabaa Adawiya neighborhood," the protester said, adding he
had also seen corpses with gunshot wounds at the hospital.
Yet the prosecutor
general's office, according to a report early Sunday on state-run Nile
TV, concluded that protesters not only initiated the clashes but also
fired live bullets on security forces.
A police spokesman
likewise rejected any allegations police opened fire, saying they only
used tear gas canisters and were not responsible for the deaths.
Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim offered a similar view during a televised news conference.
The protesters were at fault for starting violence that wounded 14 police, none of whom fired back, he said.
"I want to emphasize here that the Interior Ministry police force has never and will never fire ts weapons at any Egyptian citizen," Ibrahim said.
Fresh clashes erupted
early Sunday in Helwan south of Cairo between residents there and
pro-Morsy protesters, reported state TV, citing witnesses.
Meanwhile, an attorney
has filed a lawsuit at a district court in Cairo, asking that the
military overthrow of Morsy be overturned. Tarek Al Kashef is basing his
challenge on the country's constitution, specifically sections that
stipulate that a presidential term is four years and that the president
is the commander in chief of the armed forces. A hearing is slated for
October 8.
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