Other protesters remained
inside the Al-Fateh mosque in Ramses Square, and it was not immediately
clear whether they were free to leave or stay.
Security forces remained at the mosque, apparently preventing anyone from entering but not interfering with those leaving.
State-run Nile TV
displayed a headline reading, "Security forces managed to clear out a
large number of Morsy's supporters from Al-Fateh mosque."
About 90 minutes after
the first departures, Nile TV reported that security forces had locked
the front gates to the courtyard after hearing gunfire. But a live
television feed continued to show people milling around in the open
outside the mosque.
The mosque became a
makeshift morgue and field hospital for the Muslim Brotherhood during
clashes Friday centered on Ramses Square, where protesters promised a
"day of anger" over the military's ouster of President Mohamed Morsy.
Estimates of deaths in that area ranged from 17 to 54 in reports by state-run media.
About 1,000 people
reportedly took refuge in the mosque after nightfall Friday. State-run
EGYNews, citing military officials, reported that security forces
offered to provide safe passage for those inside the mosque. But the
protesters were afraid that they would be attacked anyway by
plainclothes "thugs" aligned with the military, a doctor inside the
mosque told CNN by phone.
As the standoff
continued, the protesters voiced their fears and determination in hours
of live television aired by the Egyptian private channel Al Hiwar, a
pro-Morsy broadcaster.
A live feed from private Egyptian networkOnTV showed people streaming down steps outside the mosque early Saturday.
Elsewhere in Cairo, the military engaged in battles with roving bands of armed protesters Friday night, state media reported.
Helicopters circled
overhead, and there were reports that armed protesters were trying to
shoot them down. Smoke wafted through Ramses Square from a fire that
engulfed a nearby commercial building. It was unclear what caused the
fire.
Death counts continued
to rise in the violent confrontation that began Wednesday when an
estimated 580 people were killed and 4,000 injured as the military
forced pro-Morsy protesters out of encampments in Cairo.
There was no apparent
progress toward a political resolution of the crisis. An umbrella group
for opponents of the military government called for daily demonstrations
next week.
Morsy's Muslim
Brotherhood and the security officials who deposed him on July 3
continued to accuse each other of instigating the violence.
State-run EGYNews said
armed protesters attacked a police station in central Cairo, killing the
police chief. Since Wednesday, 52 police officers have been killed,
state television reported, revising an earlier report of 64.
The casualties have not
been limited to Morsy supporters and security forces. A number of
bystanders, residents and journalists have been killed as the violence
has widened.
Among the figures reported in Friday's fighting:
--A medic at a Muslim
Brotherhood-supported field hospital near Ramses Square said 54 people
had been killed, according to the official al-Ahram news agency, while
state-run Nile TV put the number at 17 people killed and 40 wounded.
--In northern Egypt, at
least 16 people were killed and 140 wounded in fighting between Morsy
supporters and the military in the coastal city of Alexandria, Nile TV
reported, citing medical officials. But al-Ahram put the number at 21,
citing local health ministry officials.
--The
Interior Ministry said 1,004 Muslim Brotherhood members were arrested
across Egypt. State-run Nile TV reported Brotherhood members were
charged with rioting and creating violence. Authorities seized seven
hand grenades, five automatic weapons, pistols and 710 rounds of
ammunition, state media said.
As protesters in many
cities defied a curfew, fighting also took place in the northeast city
of Ismailia and in the Nile Delta cities of Tanta and Damietta, al-Ahram
reported.
The European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, called the rising casualty toll "shocking."
"Responsibility for this
tragedy weighs heavily on the interim government, as well as on the
wider political leadership in the country," she said.
French President
Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a
meeting next week of European Union foreign ministers to coordinate a
response to the violence in Egypt.
U.S. President Barack
Obama condemned the crackdown by security forces Thursday and canceled
scheduled joint exercises by the U.S. and Egyptian military. Thus far,
the president has declined to label Morsy's ouster a coup, a declaration
that would stop U.S. military aid to Egypt
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