This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.
Dispersal of pro-Morsi sit-ins left 703 dead: Fact-finding committee Committee blames both protesters and police for high number of casualties during removal of pro-Mohamed Morsi protest camps in August 2013
A fact-finding committee formed to investigate events in Egypt since the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi announced on Wednesday that a total of 693 civilians and 10 police men died when security forces dispersed pro-Morsi sit-ins in greater Cairo on 14 August 2013. Dispersal of the sit-in at Rabaa Al-Adawiya square in eastern Cairo left 607 civilians and eight policemen dead; while the smaller sit in at Nahda square in Giza saw the death of 86 civilians and two policemen, the committee said in a press conference on Wednesday. The committee, headed by prominent judge Fouad Abdel-Moneim Riad, blamed pro-Morsi protesters for the wave of violence that swept the country before, during and after the dispersal of the sit-ins, especially attacks on Coptic Christians. The report also said that although police were shot at, “they failed to aim their fire only at the sources of fire, which accordingly lead to an increase in the number of casualties.” The government hesitated between dispersing the sit-in quickly, with all the side effects of such a decision, and dispersing it with fewer costs over a longer period of time. However, it chose the first option in order to protect the authority of the state, the report said. “The government could have opted for drying up the human element of the sit-in, leading a wide media campaign to announce its intention to disperse the sit-in and get people involved in removing their sons from this non-peaceful protest,” the report added. The committee made it clear that it does not have the authority to direct accusations to any party. Riad, the committee's head, was appointed Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in 1995. He is a member of the Institut de Droit International, and served from 1993 to 1995 as Vice-President. More to follow http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/116490.aspx
