Egypt: 2,600 killed since Morsi ousted

At least 2,600 people were killed in violence in the 18 months after the military overthrew Egypt's president, Mohammed Morsi, in 2013, nearly half of them supporters of the Islamist leader, the head of a state-sanctioned rights body has said.

Mohammed Fayeq, head of the National Council for Human Rights, told reporters that the 2,600 included 700 policemen and 550 civilians, who were killed in the period between 30 June 2013 and 31 December 2014.

The council is a nominally independent group sanctioned by the government. It has no judicial or law enforcement powers. The military overthrew Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president, on 3 July 2013, amid massive protests demanding his resignation. In the following months, his supporters held regular demonstrations that set off deadly clashes with police and rival protesters. The violence culminated on 14 August 2013, when police violently dispersed two pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo, killing at least 600 of his supporters. Islamic militants retaliated by attacking police stations and churches.

Since then, the military-backed government has waged a sweeping crackdown on Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, which is now outlawed and branded a terrorist group, and jailed secular activists for taking part in unauthorised street protests. Those jailed include some of the leading secular and left-wing activists behind the 2011 uprising that toppled long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak.    (AP) 

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