Ammon News - CAIRO - Violence has continued into the night in Cairo, hours after at least four people were killed as Egyptian troops opened fire in a stand-off with demonstrators.

They were among 30 people who are reported to have died in widespread clashes involving opponents and backers of the ousted president, Mohamed Morsi.

Supporters of the former leader marched to the Cairo headquarters of the Republican Guard chanting "down with military rule" after a Muslim Brotherhood rally at the city's Rabea al Adaweya mosque.

Shots were fired as protesters hung pictures of Mr Morsi on a barbed wire barrier around the military complex.

The Egyptian army said troops were responding only with blank rounds and tear gas.

However, Sky's Middle East correspondent Sam Kiley, who is in Cairo, said shotguns and automatic rifles had been used on the ground.

Street fighting broke out the centre of the city later, with a crowd of Islamists surging across a bridge over the Nile after nightfall. One person was killed in their clashes with Morsi opponents near Tahrir Square.

Armoured vehicles were deployed to the area to keep rival sides apart and gunfire was heard on several occasions.

State television showed people throwing or shooting fireworks at rival protesters. Some groups huddled behind makeshift shields.

Violence also erupted in cities of southern Egypt, along the Suez Canal and in the Nile Delta, with officials reporting more than 200 people injured. Four were killed in the northern Sinai city of el Arish, where Islamists stormed a government building.

State TV quoted the country's health ministry saying 30 people had died nationwide, including 12 people in clashes in Alexandria. Most of the fatalities were from gunshot wounds.

It came after the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies called for protesters to take to the streets on the Muslim day of prayer for what it described as a "Friday of Rage".


The leader of the Brotherhood called for followers to remain peaceful but he vowed to restore power to Mr Morsi, who was ousted in a military coup earlier this week, a year after being elected to office.

General Guide Mohammed Badie was speaking to a crowd of tens of thousands of Morsi supporters in Cairo as a military helicopter circled low overhead.

Addressing the military, he said "your leader is Morsi" and demanded that they stick to their pledge of loyalty to the deposed president.

Meanwhile, the United Nations' human rights chief, Navi Pillay, has expressed concern at the arrest of key members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Mr Morsi, who is being held at the Republican Guard barracks, is believed to have been placed under house arrest since Egypt's top judge, Adli Mansour, was sworn in as interim president. At least four of his aides and advisers are also being held.

Mr Mansour issued his first decree on Friday, dissolving the Islamist-led parliament and appointing a new intelligence chief. (Sky News)