Egypt under martial law after clashes leave 464 dead

A supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood looks on during clashes with security forces in Cairo Egyptians emerged Thursday from an all-night curfew imposed after the worst violence since their 2011 uprising, with 464 people killed as security forces broke up protests supporting ousted president Mohamed Morsi. The army-backed interim government imposed a month-long nationwide state of emergency, and curfews in Cairo and 13 other provinces.
A health ministry official said at least 421 civilians had been killed throughout the country, updating an earlier toll. The interior ministry added that 43 security personnel had lost their lives.
Shortly after the curfew ended on Thursday morning, light traffic began returning to Cairo\'s streets, with roads blocked for weeks by the pro-Morsi protests now reopened.
Egypt\'s press carried photos Thursday of Morsi supporters brandishing weapons and throwing stones at police during the previous day\'s confrontations.
\"The nightmare of the Brotherhood is gone,\" daily Al-Akhbar\'s front page headline read.
\"The Brotherhood\'s last battle,\" added Al-Shorouk.
At least four churches were attacked, with Christian activists accusing Morsi loyalists of waging \"a war of retaliation against Copts in Egypt\".
The day\'s violence was the worst since the 2011 uprising that ousted president Hosni Mubarak, with an AFP correspondent counting at least 124 bodies in makeshift morgues in the Rabaa al-Adawiya protest site.
Morsi\'s Muslim Brotherhood spoke of 2,200 dead overall and more than 10,000 wounded.
The violence prompted vice president and Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei to resign, saying his conscience was troubled over the loss of life, \"particularly as I believe it could have been avoided\".
 \"It has become too difficult to continue bearing responsibility for decisions I do not agree with and whose consequences I fear,\" he said.
The state of emergency went into effect at 4:00 pm (1400 GMT) on Wednesday, with daily overnight curfews from 7:00 pm to 6:00 am.
Many Morsi supporters were given safe passage out of the camp, some flashing victory signs as they left through a security corridor.
A security official told AFP that hundreds of people were taking advantage of the safe passage offer, but that some diehards had stayed behind to fight on.
By Wednesday evening, a security official said Rabaa al-Adawiya was \"totally under control\", adding: \"There are no more clashes\".
In the smaller of the protest camps, at Al-Nahda square in central Cairo, police said they had control of the area after two hours.
Television footage showed flattened tents, as women and children flanked by police and army troops were led out of the square.
Dozens rounded up in the dispersal were shown sitting on the ground, handcuffed and surrounded by security forces.
Authorities later said calm had been restored across the country.
Europe\'s leading powers, along with Iran, Qatar and Turkey, strongly denounced the use of force by the interim government.
The White House said Washington, which provides Egypt with $1.3 billion in annual military aid, \"strongly condemns\" the violence against the protesters and opposes the imposition of a state of emergency.
Interim Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi praised the police for their \"self-restraint\" and said the government remained committed to an army-drafted roadmap that calls for elections in 2014.
Clashes also erupted between security forces and Morsi supporters in the northern provinces of Alexandria and Beheira, the canal provinces of Suez and Ismailiya, and the central provinces of Assiut and Menya.
In Alexandria, hundreds of angry Morsi supporters marched through the streets armed with wooden clubs chanting \"Morsi is my president\".
It was a dramatic turn of events for the Muslim Brotherhood, who just over a year ago celebrated Morsi\'s victory as Egypt\'s first elected president.
His turbulent year in power, marred by political turmoil, deadly clashes and a crippling economic crisis, turned many against the Islamist movement, with millions taking to the streets on June 30 to call for his removal
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry led the widespread global condemnation Wednesday of Egypt\'s bloody crackdown on supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, branding the events in Cairo \"deplorable.\"
The United States did not initially criticize the overthrow of Morsi, Egypt\'s first democratically elected and Islamist leader, and has avoided using the term \"coup,\" which under US law would have halted some $1.3 billion in annual military aid to Cairo.
But Kerry\'s comments, in which he called for elections, appeared to fully recant his previously expressed support for Egypt\'s military-backed government, on which he had recently backtracked.
\"Today\'s events are deplorable and they run counter to Egyptian aspirations for peace, inclusion and genuine democracy,\" Kerry told reporters.
\"The interim government and the military -- which together possess the preponderance of power in this confrontation -- have a unique responsibility to prevent further violence and to offer constructive options for an inclusive peaceful process across the political spectrum.
\"This includes amending the constitution and holding parliamentary and presidential elections, which the interim government itself has called for,\" he said.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who had urged both sides to exercise restraint, expressed regret that \"Egyptian authorities chose instead to use force to respond to the ongoing demonstrations,\" according to a statement by his spokesman.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was deeply concerned at the escalating violence and unrest.
\"I condemn the use of force in clearing protests and call on the security forces to act with restraint,\" Hague said.
European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, in a sharpened statement, urged Egypt\'s rulers to end a month-long state of emergency imposed in the wake of the crackdown.
\"I strongly condemn the violence that has erupted in Cairo and throughout Egypt,\" Ashton said.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt tweeted: \"Main responsibility with regime forces. Extremely hard to restore political process.\"
Qatar, a main backer of the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi\'s main constituency, issued a similar message.
\"Qatar strongly denounces the means by which peaceful protesters in Rabaa al-Adawiya camp and Al-Nahda square have been dealt with and which led to the killing of several unarmed innocent people among them,\" a foreign ministry spokesman said.
Turkey -- which had cultivated strong ties with Morsi\'s government -- urged the international community to act immediately over what it said was an \"unacceptable\" response to the protests.
Iran termed the crackdown a \"massacre.\"
\"Iran is following the bitter events in Egypt closely, disapproves of the violent actions, condemns the massacre of the population and warns of the serious consequences,\" the foreign ministry said.
The Islamist movement Hamas, the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood which rules Gaza, also strongly denounced the crackdown.
\"We call for an end to the bloodshed and to excesses against peaceful demonstrators,\" its spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP.
France, Germany and Italy refrained from apportioning blame for the crisis, calling for calm from both sides.
Russia also \"called on all political forces ... to show restraint and calm ... in order to avoid a further escalation and further loss of life.\"
Additional source: AFP