Egypt Crisis: Irish Siblings 'In Cairo Jail'

Four Irish siblings caught up in the violence in Cairo are being held by Egyptian authorities, their family has said.

Omaima Halawa, 20, her two sisters Fatima, 22, Somaia, 27, and their younger brother Ibrihim, 17, were among hundreds of people cleared out of the al Fath mosque when security forces stormed the building on Saturday.

They were forced to seek sanctuary in the mosque on Friday after violent clashes between supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi and the security forces killed more than 80 people.

Hundreds of Morsi supporters also fled to the building in the Ramses area of Cairo, shoving furniture against the doors to stop police from breaking their way in.

Speaking from the family home in Firhouse, south Dublin, another sister Nasaybi Halawa said her four siblings were being held at one of Cairo's jails.

She spoke out as it emerged that dozens Muslim Brotherhood supporters had been killed in an incident at an Egyptian prison.

The interior ministry said 36 detainees died after suffocating on tear gas during an attempted prison break.

A ministry spokesman said: "Thirty-six of the prisoners died of suffocation and crowding after tear gas was used to stop their escape."

Ms Halawa said: "The latest we know is that they are in one of the jails in Cairo. But we do not know if they are all together or whether they have been separated - boys and girls."

The family are concerned that teenage Ibrihim, who has just completed his Leaving Certificate, may have been separated from his sisters.

"It is very hard. We just know that they are being held," Ms Halawa said.

"We don't know if they have food supplies or water, whether they have slept or whether or not they will be released.

"We are worried - are they safe, were they beaten or injured while leaving the mosque? We just don't know."

The siblings, whose father is the imam of Dublin's largest mosque, have not been able to contact their family directly and it is understood their mobile phones have been seized.

Ms Halawa said her mother, who is staying with relatives in Egypt, had been contacted by a woman who had seen Omaima in one of the detention centres.

The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed they are working closely with counterparts in Egypt in a bid to secure the safe release of the family.

The Halawas had travelled to Egypt earlier this summer for a holiday and were joined by their mother a fortnight ago.

Ms Halawa said: "They thought the mosque is a holy place and that they would be safe there.

"They phoned my father and told him they were in the mosque and that they were going to pray and afterwards would leave. But, by the time prayer time had finished they were surrounded."

Speaking from inside the mosque on Saturday Omaima Halawa, a student, said she did not feel safe enough to leave the building without a diplomatic escort.

She also told Irish national broadcaster RTE that "thugs" outside the mosque had threatened to kill her if she left the building and said others who had tried to flee were "taken".

The Egyptian government said 385 people inside the mosque had been arrested and that a total of 79 people had died in violent clashes across the country on Saturday.

Following the chaos, Egypt's army chief General Abdel Fattah al Sisi vowed to stand firm in the face of violence.

"Whoever imagines violence will make the state and Egyptians kneel must reconsider; we will never be silent in the face of the destruction of the country," he said on Sunday.

But he also sounded a more conciliatory tone, telling Mr Morsi's supporters there was "room for everyone" in Egypt.

The head of Egypt's armed forces urged them to help "rebuild the democratic path" and "integrate in the political process".

Egypt: '250 Killed' As Police Clear Morsi Camps

More than 250 people have reportedly been killed as Egyptian security forces cleared two protest camps loyal to deposed president Mohamed Morsi.

Sky's Sam Kiley, reporting from outside the Rabaa al Adawiya camp in Cairo, said it was "under very heavy gunfire" and was a "massive military assault on largely unarmed civilians in very large numbers".

He added: "There are machine gun rounds and snipers on the roof that are preventing people from getting any closer to the field hospital.

"There is a very large fire that I understand is burning tents and other material that was being used by the group."

He said it was a scene of "extreme chaos and bloodshed" and "many hundreds of troops and interior ministry police and special forces are involved."

Police, backed by armoured vehicles and bulldozers, also fired tear gas at the demonstrators who are demanding Mr Morsi be reinstated as the country's leader.

The interior ministry, which is in charge of police, warned its security forces would deal firmly with protesters acting "irresponsibly" and said it would guarantee safe passage to those who want to leave the two sites.

The larger is the Rabaa al Adawiya camp described as a 'mini town', while the other is in Al Nahda Square outside the main campus of Cairo University in Giza.

The interior ministry said security forces have "total control" over the smaller camp and police have managed to remove most of the tents in the square.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the sprawling Rabaa camp, Murad Ahmed said:  "It is nasty inside, they are destroying our tents. We can't breath inside and many people are in hospital."

A journalist at the scene said he could hear the screams of women as a cloud of white smoke hung over the site in the eastern suburb of Nasr City.

The Muslim Brotherhood that backs ousted Islamist president Mr Morsi claimed over 250 people had been killed and 5,000 hurt in the crackdown, which is almost certain to deepen political turmoil in Egypt.

The raids came after international efforts failed to mediate an end to a six-week political standoff between Morsi's supporters and the army-backed government which took power after he was ousted on July 3.

The state news agency claimed two policemen had been killed by gunfire during the operation.

Regional television networks showed images of collapsed tents and burning tyres at both sites, with ambulances on standby at the scene.

They also showed protesters being arrested and led away by troops.

A television feed by a pro-Morsi TV station showed thousands of protesters gathered at the centre of the Nasr City site, with many covering their faces to fend off the tear gas.

It said most of the protesters at the other camp fled to the nearby Orman botanical gardens and inside the sprawling university campus.

Muslim Brotherhood Marches On Military HQ

Several thousand supporters of Egypt's ousted Islamist president have begun marching on a military facility in Cairo in defiance of an army warning to stay away.

A spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood said the marchers had set off from the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in northern Cairo, where they have been manning a vigil to demand deposed President Mohamed Mursi's reinstatement.

At least 72 Mursi supporters were shot dead by security forces on Saturday near the vigil, deepening the turmoil convulsing the country since the army shunted Egypt's first freely elected president from power on July 3.

The marchers are reportedly chanting: "Our blood and souls we sacrifice for Mursi." The military intelligence building is several miles from the site of the vigil.

The army, saying it was aware of the planned march, issued a statement urging protesters "not to come close to military facilities in general, and the headquarters of military intelligence specifically."

Thousands of Brotherhood supporters are defying a threat by Egypt's army-backed authorities to clear them from the site of the vigil.

Saturday's killings at dawn, following a day of rival mass rallies, fuelled global anxiety that the Arab world's most populous nation - a bridge between the Middle East and North Africa - risked broader conflagration.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, was due to meet on Monday with the army's General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the overthrow of Mursi, and officials of the Freedom and Justice Party, the Brotherhood's political wing.

Egypt: Two Die During Alexandria Clashes

Two people have been killed in clashes between supporters and opponents of Egypt's ousted President Mohamed Morsi, according to the country's MENA news agency.

The deaths took place in Egypt's second biggest city of Alexandria, with reports that 19 people have also been injured there.

A deeply polarised Egypt was braced for violence ahead of the two mass rallies, called by the army and the Islamists who back Mr Morsi.

Army chief General Abdel Fattah al Sisi summoned Egyptians to the streets in an intended turning point in its confrontation with followers of Mr Morsi, the elected leader the military removed on July 3.

Mr Sisi said he wanted Egyptians to give the military a "mandate" to take the necessary measures against "violence and terrorism".

It comes as the country's state news agency reported Mr Morsi had been detained over accusations he killed soldiers and conspired with the Palestinian group Hamas.

The claims were dismissed as "ridiculous" by his Muslim Brotherhood party, which has been camped out at street vigils calling for his reinstatement.

An army official said the military had given the party a Saturday deadline to end its resistance and join a military-set roadmap to fresh elections.

But the Brotherhood says it wants nothing to do with the army's transition plan and has called its own crowds out for counter-demonstrations in a "day to remove the coup".

Mr Morsi has been in military detention at an undisclosed location since he was overthrown.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon has called on the military to free Mr Morsi and other Islamic Brotherhood leaders, said deputy UN spokesman Eduardo del Buey.

Mr Ban also says he "urges all sides to act with maximum restraint" during the demonstrations.

Both the army and the Muslim Brotherhood dramatically escalated rhetoric in the lead-up to the rallies, following a month of clashes in which about 200 people, mainly supporters of Mr Morsi, have died.

The army has threatened to "turn its guns" on those who use violence.

In a Facebook post, the army said it will not "turn its guns against its people, but it will turn them against black violence and terrorism which has no religion or nation".

An army official told Reuters: "We will not initiate any move, but will definitely react harshly against any calls for violence or black terrorism from Brotherhood leaders or their supporters."

The main anti-Morsi youth protest group, which has backed the army, said it would go to the streets to "cleanse Egypt".

The Muslim Brotherhood accused the army of pushing the nation towards civil war and committing a crime worse than destroying Islam's holiest site.

The Brotherhood also claims the authorities have been stirring up the violence to justify their crackdown.

The rallies are expected to peak after the evening prayer marking the end of the day's Ramadan fast.

Police said they were planning large-scale reinforcements and the Interior Ministry said it would undertake "unprecedented measures to protect citizens and their property".

The head of the army, Mr Sisi, was appointed by Mr Morsi in a bid by the president to rein in Egypt's all-powerful military.

But Mr Sisi turned against him after a year in which the Egyptian economy floundered and support for Mr Morsi slumped.

Posters of the general have since appeared in shops and stalls across Cairo.

The US - which has close ties with Egypt's military - said it was "very concerned" by Mr Sisi's call for mass rallies.

After Mr Sisi's comments, the US announced it would suspend a delivery of F-16 warplanes.

The country remains deeply split over Mr Morsi's ousting.

The Brotherhood accuses the army of ejecting a democratically elected leader in a long-planned coup, while its opponents say the army responded to the will of the people.