(Photo by Ahmed Al-Malky)
Tamarod announced on Wednesday the passing of Amr Abdel-Rahman, its first member to die in clashes since the 30 June protests began.
Abdel-Rahman’s funeral was held on Wednesday afternoon.
Tamarod said on its website that Abdel-Rahman lost his life after being shot in the head in deadly clashes in the vicinity of Cairo University Tuesday night. Abdel-Rahman was a member of the campaign’s counting committee that regarded him as “one of its most active members.”
The petition campaign launched to withdraw confidence from President Mohamed Morsi claimed on its website that Abdel-Rahman was shot by “Muslim Brotherhood militias who started to kill and terrorise protesters after Morsi’s speech.” Morsi delivered a speech to the nation on Tuesday night.
Tamarod said it mourns Abdel-Rahman’s death, as well as the death of any other Egyptian martyr. It also called on security forces to protect protesters from the “Muslim Brotherhood’s militias.”
Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood claimed on its English website Ikhwanweb that “thugs hired by Tamarod” opened fire on Morsi’s supporters outside Cairo University.
Pro-Morsi protesters started gathering near Cairo University Monday night to announce support for Morsi’s legitimacy. The Brotherhood claimed that “thugs” were using “automatic weapons and live bullets” and that they were “aided by police firing teargas.”
Clashes started on Tuesday night and continued into the early hours of Wednesday morning. The Ministry of Health said that at dawn that the death toll reached 16, with 200 injured, state-run MENA reported.
Tamarod claims to have gathered over 22 million signatures of citizens who want to withdraw confidence from Morsi. Its call for protests on 30 June was responded to by massive nationwide protests that are on-going.
In a speech on Tuesday night, Morsi said showed no signs of stepping down, and stated that he is holding to “legitimacy.”
