The Egyptian health ministry reports 56 dead, 526 injured countrywide in clashes over the Egyptian security clear-up of two fortified pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo Wednesday. The Muslim Brother has put the figure in the thousands. The violence has spread to Alexandria, Asyut and Menia. Witnesses report security forces using machine guns, firing tear gas from helicopters and posting snipers on the rooftops to clear the larger Muslim Brotherhood camp in Nasser City after tear gas, tanks and armored bulldozers. The smaller camp in Giza was quickly dismantled earlier.
The clear-up operation was expected. The military which deposed the Muslim Brotherhood warned the Brotherhood that the camps would be cleared by force after failing to obtain a negotiated consent to voluntary dispersal.