More than 100 people are believed to have been killed at a protest in support of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi.
Security forces are reported to have started shooting demonstrators shortly before pre-dawn morning prayers at a round-the-clock vigil in Cairo being staged by backers of Morsi, who was removed from power by the army three weeks ago.
Makeshift field hospitals around the area near the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque were overwhelmed, with one doctor telling the BBC that more than 1,000 had been injured.
The state health ministry said 20 people had died and 177 suffered injuries.
This image released by the Egyptian army of Friday evening's pro-army rally shows the strength of support for the security forces and against the ousted president Morsi
Hundreds of thousands took to the streets as supporters of the army heeded a call to rally
Supporters of the army gathered in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Friday
Lights: Hundreds of laser lights were shone into the sky by demonstrators in Tahrir Square who rallied to show support for the army
Al Jazeera Egypt reported that 120 had been killed and some 4,500 injured in the early morning violence near the capital's Rabaa al-Adawia mosque.
'They are not shooting to wound, they are shooting to kill,' said pro-Morsi Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad.
Reporters at the scene said firing could still be heard hours after the troubles started.
The deaths occurred hours after supporters and opponents of Morsi staged mass rival rallies across the country.
Hundreds of thousands of people came onto the streets after army chief General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who played a central role in overthrowing the president, called for Egyptians to rally to give him a mandate to tackle 'violence and terrorism'.
Security forces fired rounds of teargas at pro-Morsi supporters at a vigil in Cairo
Barricade: Supporters of the deposed president throw stones from behind a makeshift wall as they take cover from the police during clashes in Cairo
Explosion: Fireworks are set off near police and pro-army protesters by supporters of Morsi
Warzone: The streets of Cairo descended into chaos as supporters of the army clashed with pro-Morsi demonstrators
Confusion: Security forces said they had fired teargas at pro-Morsi supporters but denied shooting at them
Destruction: Stones and flowers are laid next to a trail of blood that has splattered across a tiled floor during the clashes in the early hours of this morning
But Muslim Brotherhood supporters also staged mass counter-rallies, demanding the reinstatement of Morsi, who was placed under investigation on Friday for a raft of crimes, including murder.
More than 200 people have died in violence since the overthrow of Morsi, including at least nine on Friday, most of them Brotherhood supporters.
Mr Haddad said the latest deaths came after police started firing repeated rounds of teargas around 3am at protesters who had spilled out of the main area of the Rabaa sit-in.
'Through the smog of the gas, the bullets started flying,' he said.
Security: A military helicopter patrols the skies above Tahrir Square where hundreds of thousands of supporters of the army gathered on Friday
Conflict: Police stand back as teargas is fired into a crowd in Cairo in the early hours of Saturday morning
He claimed 'special police forces in black uniforms' were firing live rounds and that snipers shot from the roofs of a university, buildings in the area, and a bridge.
State news agency MENA quoted an unnamed security source as saying that only teargas was used to disperse protesters. He said no firearms were used.
Mr Haddad said the pro-Morsi supporters had used rocks to try to defend themselves.
On the podium outside the Rabaa mosque, a speaker urged people to retreat from the gunfire, but Mr Haddad said 'men stayed to defend themselves because women and children are inside the sit-in'.
Accusations: The clashes came as Morsi was accused of crimes including murder
Injuries: A supporter of the ousted president is rushed to a field hospital in the Nasr area of Cairo
Attack: A spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood claimed hundreds of people were injured when security forces shot at them in the early hours of this morning
Makeshift: An injured man is rushed through the crowds to a field hospital on the back of a moped
Senior Brotherhood politician Saad el-Hosseini said: 'I have been trying to make the youth withdraw for five hours. I can't. They are saying have paid with their blood and they do not want to retreat.'
Egypt's army-installed interior minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, said on Friday that the month-old Cairo vigils by Morsi supporters would be 'brought to an end, soon and in a legal manner', state-run al Ahram news website reported.
Yesterday the country's new rulers accused Morsi of conspiring with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and plotting to attack police stations, army officers and prisons during the 2011 uprising against former president Hosni Mubarak.
During the 2011 struggles, he had escaped from a prison and has now been accused of the 'premeditated killing of officers, soldiers and prisoners'.
Source:Dailymail.
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