ElBaradei quits as Egypt declares state of emergency

Woman in Cairo stops a bulldozer from approaching an injured man Cairo – Mohammed Al Dawi, Akram Ali, Amr Waly Egyptian vice president, Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, announced his resignation in a letter to the interim president on Wednesday . The resignation comes after scores were killed in a crackdown by security forces on loyalists of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
In the letter, ElBaradei said there were \"peaceful ways\" for ending the political crisis.
\"As you know, I saw that there were peaceful ways to end this clash in society, there were proposed and acceptable solutions for beginnings that would take us to national consensus,\" he wrote.
\"It has become difficult for me to continue bearing responsibility for decisions that I do not agree with and whose consequences I fear. I cannot bear the responsibility for one drop of blood,\" he added.
Egypt\'s government declared a curfew in Cairo and 10 other provinces in a bid to contain nationwide violence following a crackdown on Morsi supporters.
The curfew was to begin at 1900 hrs (1700 GMT), before sunset, and run until 0600 hrs (0400 GMT), a government spokesman said in a statement read out on state television.
It applies to the provinces of Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Beni Sueif, Menya, Assiut, Sohag, Beheira, North Sinai, South Sinai and Suez. \"Whoever violates these orders will be punished with imprisonment,\" the government said in a statement.
It came after a month-long state of emergency was declared as violence raged across the country.
Egyptian security forces said Wednesday evening that they were in \"total control\" of the main protest camp
\"The situation in Rabaa al-Adawiya is now totally under control. There are no more clashes,\" the official told AFP.
According to AFP, hundreds of Morsi supporters were given safe passage out of a Cairo protest camp stormed earlier in the day by security forces.
Television footage showed supporters leaving the Rabaa al-Adawiya encampment through a security corridor, some flashing victory signs.
A security official confirmed to AFP that hundreds of people were taking advantage of the safe passage offer but said some diehards stayed behind amid renewed clashes with security forces.
Meanwhile, Egypt\'s health ministry said 278 people had been killed in the violence after police cracked down on Morsi loyalists. The largest toll was at the Rabaa al-Adawiya protest camp in Cairo, where an AFP correspondent counted 124 bodies. In contrast, health ministry spokesman Mohammed Fathallah said 61 people had died there.
Fathallah said 21 died at the Nahda Square camp in Cairo, 18 in Helwan south of the capital and the rest in several provinces.
In addition, 43 members of the police force were killed, he said.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s website, Ikhwanonline, put the Cairo death toll at 800. The group said daughters of senior Brotherhood figures Mohamed al-Beltagi and Khairat al-Shater were among the dead. Seventeen-year-old Asmaa al-Beltagi was shot in chest and back, her brother said.
A televised statement on behalf of the Egyptian cabinet praised security forces for exercising self-control, and said the Muslim Brotherhood was responsible for any violence.
Earlier on Wednesday, the interior ministry said 200 Morsi supporters had been arrested, 150 in Nahda Square and 50 in Rabaa al-Adawiya Square, adding that security forces used only tear gas to disperse the sit-ins. It confirmed that two members of the security forces were killed on Wednesday morning.
Police forces reportedly found a large quantity of weapons and ammunition in one of the protesters’ tents in Nahda square.
Eyewitnesses told Arab Today that many of the protesters gathered in Mostafa Mahmoud Square in Mohandessin area in Giza after the Nahda sit-in was dispersed.
According to the eyewitnesses, Brotherhood supporters fired shots in the air, and raised metal barriers to organise a new sit-in.
Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities stopped all train services in and out of Cairo to prevent Morsi supporters from reassembling after being dispersed from the protest camps.
\"Train services in and out of Cairo in all directions have been stopped until further notice... for security reasons and to prevent people from mobilising,\" the railway authority said.
Troops have also closed the Cairo to Ismailia desert road on Wednesday morning, to prevent Brotherhood supporters from reaching Cairo.
The Interior ministry called or protesters to resort to reason and to prioritise the interest of the country and immediately end the sit-ins.
“We call on the protesters to let the women, children and elders leave the sit-in and not use them as human shields. And we warn the protesters of committing any violent act or using weapons against security forces, as it will be dealt with firmly and according to the rules of legitimate self defence,” the ministry said.
Earlier, an AFP correspondent who counted 15 bodies at a makeshift morgue at the Rabaa al-Adawiya camp said many of them appeared to have died from gunshot wounds.
The BBC reported that security forces were using armoured cars and bulldozers to clear the protests, while al-Jazeera showed protesters saying snipers were firing at them from the roofs of military buildings in Rabaa al-Adawiya.  
Police have cut off side streets and gunfire has been heard, and teargas is reported to have been used against protesters.
The interior ministry on Wednesday morning warned that security forces would move to disperse both camps, but added that it wanted to avoid bloodshed and would provide a safe exit to protesters not wanted by prosecution.
Authorities in Egypt have issued several warnings to the Islamist demonstrators to end the protests, and on Sunday police officials said security forces would besiege the two camps within 24 hours.