Three Irish Sisters Under Siege in Cairo Mosque

7/27/2019 Three Irish Sisters Under Siege in Cairo Mosque

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Three Irish sisters and their teenage brother

among hundreds under siege in Cairo mosqueas Egyptian security forces storm the building

The three women and a teenager are on holiday in Egypt

Sought refuge in the mosque after 80 people were killed yesterday

Omaima Halawa, 21, is with her two sisters Somaia, 27, and Fatima, 23, as well as

her younger brother Ibrihim, 17

They said they had been warned they could be shot if they tried to leave

Reports of gunfire coming from inside the mosque

Official death toll from Wednesday's massacre in Cairo come to 638

By Jill Reilly

PUBLISHED: 10:40 GMT, 17 August 2013 | UPDATED: 13:29 GMT, 17 August 2013

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Three Irish sisters and their teenage brother are among hundreds of people under siege in a Cairo mosque

being stormed by Egyptian security forces.

Omaima Halawa, 21, who is with her two sisters Somaia, 27, and Fatima, 23, as well as their younger brother

Ibrihim, 17, said they had been warned they could be shot if they tried to leave.

Witnesses say that Egyptian security forces have stormed the mosque after firing tear gas and Egypt's official

news agency MENA reported that gunmen opened fire on security forces from the mosque's minaret.

The siblings, who are on holiday in Egypt, sought refuge in the mosque after 80 people were killed during

violent clashes between supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi and the security forces in Cairo

yesterday.

Scroll down for videos


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Tense: Four Irish citizens are among hundreds of people trapped in an Egyptian mosque

fearful they will be attacked if they leave


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Waiting: Protesters supporting ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi wait inside

al-Fath mosque, at Ramses Square in Cairo


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Trouble: Witnesses say that Egyptian security forces have stormed the mosque after

firing tear gas

Mess: Debris is scattered inside the al-Fatah mosque after Muslim Brotherhood

supporters barricaded themselves inside overnight


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Tense: Police officers stand guard at one of the doors to al-Fath mosque

Grim: A stretcher covered with a white blanket is carried out of al-Fateh mosque on

Ramses Square, Cairo


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More than 50 people were killed a day earlier in violence across Egypt, according to

security sources

Demonstrators in support of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi wait by the

barricaded door inside


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A pro-Morsi supporter is escroted from the mosque

Refuge: The siblings, who are on holiday in Egypt, sought refuge in the mosque after 80

people were killed during violent clashes between supporters of ousted president

Mohammed Morsi and the security forces in Cairo yesterday


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Clashes: An estimated 700 Morsi supporters took refuge in the mosque following clashes

with security forces in the area

Soldiers escort women from al-Fateh mosque

FCO: 'AVOID ALL BUT ESSENTIAL TRAVEL'

The FCO is advising Britons to avoid all but essential travel to Egypt, except the Red Sea resorts, despite

holiday makers being confined to their hotel grounds in one resort in the area.

But other European countries have taken a firmer approach, with Germany advising its nationals not to travel

to the country.

The FCO said it is advising British nationals to check its travel advice, and is urging people to obey regulations

set out by local authorities and any curfew, if they are affected.

UK travel organisation Abta has estimated that there are currently around 40,000 Britons in Egypt.

UK tour operators Thomson and First Choice have 11,769 British holidaymakers in Egypt, many of them in the

Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh and the others in neighbouring Hurghada, Taba and Marsa Alam, while

Thomas Cook has several thousand UK tourists in the Red Sea resorts at the moment.

Thomson Airways has four return flights to Sharm el Sheikh today, and five return flights to Sharm el Sheikh

tomorrow.


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In light of the FCO travel advice, Thomson Cruises has changed its itinerary for an Egypt and the Holy Land

voyage on the Thomson Celebration vessel starting next Monday.

Ms Halawa said conditions inside the mosque are austere with no food, a lack of clean water, dozens of

injured people and few medical supplies.

'There was a group of ladies who left. When they left they were attacked and taken,' she said.

'We are not safe.'

Ms Halawa was taking part in a demonstration when violence forced them into the mosque at about 7pm last

night.

Her family is now too scared to leave without help and assurances from a diplomat.

Ms Halawa, who is a final year student at Blanchardstown Institute of Technology, said the Irish authorities had

been in contact.

They had travelled to Egypt with their mother for a holiday earlier this summer. Their father remained in Dublin

- their father is Hussein Halawa - the Imam of Ireland's biggest mosque in Dublin.

From the family home at Firhouse in the south of the city, another sister Nasaybi said they were enduring a

terrible ordeal.

She said: 'We are really worried. We do not know how to help them. We are just trying to support them by

calling and giving them some hope that they will get home safely.'

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said embassy staff had been in contact with the group and

were working closely with the authorities in Cairo.

He said: 'We can confirm we have been in touch with the group. We can also confirm that embassy staff have

been in touch with the authorities in Egypt.'

WARNING GRAPHIC: Moment unarmed protester is 'hit by gunfire'


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Defiant: As most people ran away, one man remained standing directly in front of a tank

with his arms raised


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Gunned down: The demonstrator (seen in background) appears to be struck repeatedly

struck by bullets, and then falls down


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Aftermath: The alleged shooting victim is seen rolling over on the ground next to another

man

Fact or fiction? NBC News foreign correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin tweeted that the

news agency Storyful had confirmed the video's authenticity


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The crisis has prompted widespread condemnation, and a demonstration against the massacre will be held at

the Egyptian embassy in London today.

Foreign Secretary William Hague yesterday discussed the situation with Turkish foreign minister Ahmet

Davutoglu, and last night the Foreign Office (FCO) said in a statement: 'The UK continues to call for an end to

violence and for a return to peaceful dialogue.

'FCO ministers remain actively engaged in support of these objectives with their regional and international

counterparts...

'We will continue to work closely with our EU and international partners over the coming days in our ongoing

efforts to help the Egyptian people achieve peace and a return to democratic processes.'

Earlier David Cameron and French president Francois Hollande called for an emergency meeting of European

Union foreign ministers to discuss the deepening crisis.

In a telephone call, the two leaders said the EU needed to consider steps it could take to persuade both sides

to end the violence and enter dialogue.


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Pivotal moment: The alleged shooting of the unarmed man was also captured on a cell

phone video taken from a different angle

'They agreed that the EU should be clear and united in its message: the violence must end immediately and

there needs to be a political dialogue, involving all sides, that leads to genuine democracy,' a No 10

spokesman said.

The Prime Minister and the president said they wanted a meeting of EU foreign ministers to be called for next

week.

'They should consider what measures the EU can take to make clear that the violence and repression is

unacceptable and to best encourage leaders from all sides to re-engage in dialogue and to chart a peaceful

way forward for their country,' the spokesman said.

Mr Cameron also raised the issue in a telephone call with European Commission president Jose Manuel

Barroso primarily to discuss the situation on Spain's border with Gibraltar.

Today supporters of Egypt's ousted Islamist president are vowing to defy a state of emergency with new

protests.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood says a son of its spiritual leader was killed during fierce clashes in downtown

Cairo.


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Fleeing for their lives: Friday's death toll has now reached 64 across Egypt, including

eight police officers,

A member of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporter of ousted Egyptian President

Mohamed Mursi shouts slogans after being injured during clashes in front of Azbkya


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police station

'Day of Rage': Hundreds have been reported injured and around have been 50 killed in

today's protests in the Egyptian capital

Street battle: A Morsi supporter is taken from the crowd after he was injured during a


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Home-made weaponry: Morsi protesters throw rocks, lamps and what appears to be

kitchen appliances, near the Four Seasons hotel in Garden City area of Cairo

Twitter user @sarahcarr posted this picture of people jumping off 6 October bridge near

a police station after the large crown was trapped by armed police

At least 12 people were killed near the square as some in the crowd tried to attack a police station, security

officials said. Inside a mosque off Ramses Square, where the Brotherhood urged its Cairo supporters to

converge, blood-soaked bodies with bullets to the head and chest lay next to one another.


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The mosque-turned-morgue was also being used as a field hospital where the wounded were being wheeled

in on wooden crates. One corpse had a name and phone number scribbled on the chest.

The Facebook page of the army spokesman, Col. Mohammed Ali, accused gunmen of firing from the mosque

at nearby buildings.

The upper floors of a commercial building towering over Ramses Square caught fire during the mayhem, with

flames engulfing it for hours.

Similar battles played out in cities across the country, where people brandishing weapons attacked police andresidents fired at one another.

Gunmen targeted police check points and at least 10 police stations came under attack. Egypt's security

forces were rocked by the country's 2011 uprising that toppled Mubarak and have not fully recovered since.

In the canal city of Suez, 14 people were killed in clashes between protesters and security forces. In Egypt's

second-largest city of Alexandria, 10 people were killed during clashes between the two rival camps.

Police violence: Morsi supporters carry an injured demonstrator during clashes outside

Azbakeya Police Station


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Temporary care: The Al-Fath mosque was turned into a field hospital after armed police

opened fire outside Azbakeya Police Station

Residents and protesters: More prominently than during earlier violence, there were

street battles between Morsi supporters and vigilante residents rather than police


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Security officials said violence was also fierce in the province of Fayoum, just west of Cairo, where seven

people were killed during an attempt to storm the main security building there, a security official said.

Two policemen died in the attack.

In the southern province of Minya, protesters attacked two Christian churches, security officials said.

At churches across the country, residents formed human chains to try to protect them from further assaults,

and a civilian was killed while trying to protect a church in Sohag, south of Cairo, authorities said.

Many of Morsi's supporters have criticised Egypt's Christian minority for largely supporting the military'sdecision to remove him from office, and dozens of churches have been attacked this week.

Fury: Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood supporters walk towards Ramses square in Cairo as

they take part in a 'march of anger'. Violent clashes have already left 17 people dead


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Hurt: Protesters who support the ousted Egyptian President transport injured people

following the clashes in Ramses Square

Desperate: Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood supporters carry a wounded protestor in

Cairo's Ramses square


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Fury: Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Sanaa shout slogans during the rally in protest

at the recent violence in Egypt

Graphic footage from inside Egypt. Army appear to fire on...

Mourad Ali, a spokesman for the Brotherhood, denounced the attacks on churches, saying they ran counter to

Islamic principles and were an attempt to ignite sectarian divisions.

'Our stance is clear ... We strongly condemn any attack - even verbal - on churches and on Coptic property.

This holds true whether or not Coptic leaders joined in or supported the July 3 coup. This does not justify any

attack on them,' he said in an online statement.

More than 800 people were arrested in Friday's clashes, including local Brotherhood leaders in the provinces.

The group's top figures are facing charges of inciting violence and some have been imprisoned for weeks.

Morsi has been held at an undisclosed location and is facing a criminal investigation.

Morsi, a longtime Brotherhood leader, was ousted by the military after days of mass protests against him. He

was accused by his critics of failing to govern inclusively and Cairo witnessed street clashes between his


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supporters and opponents on at least three occasions during his year in office, though the fighting was

confined to key areas of the capital and not nearly as fierce or deadly as Friday's violence.

The revolutionary and liberal groups that helped topple Morsi have largely stayed away from the street rallies

in recent weeks.

The Popular Current, a leftist anti-Morsi group, said they were 'astounded' by how some in the international

community have denounced Wednesday's move against the Islamist protest camps as 'state violence against

civilians.'

The statement reflected widespread sentiment that the Cairo sit-ins had to be dispersed after the government

issued warnings to protesters over the past several weeks.

The government, bolstered by wealthy Arab Gulf states opposed to the Brotherhood, has branded the

crackdown on Islamists as part of a wider fight against 'terrorists'.


in recent weeks.



civilians.'





Protests: Smoke rises near Al-Fath Mosque during clashes at Ramses Square


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Unstable: Protestors run away from tear gas during clashes in Cairo

Angry: Supporters of Morsi throw stones at a gasoline station that belongs to the

Egyptian Army in Cairo


in recent weeks.




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civilians.'





Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, whose country has pledged billions in aid to interim leaders in Egypt, said the

kingdom stood by the country in its fight against 'terrorism and strife' - a thinly veiled reference to theBrotherhood.

Egypt's military-backed government released a statement Friday accusing 'terrorist groups' and 'outlaws' of

confronting security forces, which it said must 'stand together against a terrorist plot.'

The interim Cabinet authorized police to use of deadly force against anyone targeting police and state

institutions a day earlier.

Egyptian state television showed footage of armed Brotherhood supporters under the banner headline Egypt

Fights Terrorism.

The Brotherhood's political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, said in a statement Friday that the group is

not backing down.'We are not only dealing with the disbandment of a sit-in, but with the extermination of the Egyptian people to

subject them to military rule with steel and fire,' the group said in a statement, warning that differences will

deepen.

The international community has urged both sides to show restraint and end the turmoil engulfing the nation.

The European Union's foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton said Friday that the death toll over the last few

days is 'shocking' and that responsibility weighs heavily on the interim government and the wider political

leadership in Egypt.


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Tears: Egyptians mourn over the bodies of their relatives in the El-Iman mosque in Nasr

City, Cairo

Aftermath: Egyptian soldiers and people sift through debris spread out by the Rabaah

al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo's Nasr City, Egypt

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Three Irish Sisters Under Siege in Cairo Mosque