ccording to the Ministry of Interior, the nationwide August 14 death
toll of 638 includes 43 police officers. The dispersal sparked gunfights
in the Cairo neighborhood of Mohandessin and an attack on a police
station in Kerdassa, in greater Cairo, which left four policemen dead.
Human Rights Watch spoke to witnesses, priests, and residents who
confirmed that over the course of August 14, immediately following the
dispersals, Islamists in at least nine cities attacked and burned at
least 32 churches.
Over the following three days, clashes between security forces and
Muslim Brotherhood protesters, and anti-Muslim Brotherhood protesters
led to at least 173 additional deaths by August 18, according to the
Ministry of Health.
Human Rights Watch is investigating the government’s dispersal of
Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins at Rab’a al-Adawiya in Nasr City and at Nahda
in Giza, in greater Cairo. Human Rights Watch staff interviewed 41
protesters, doctors, and residents from both areas, visited the Rab’a
al-Adawiya Medical Center during the dispersal and later visited
hospitals and morgues in Nasr City and Giza.
