Death toll rises as violence continues to spread

Clashes continue; world leaders condemn Wednesday’s violence

Egyptian authorities on Thursday significantly raised the death toll from clashes the previous day between police and supporters of the ousted Islamist president, saying more than 500 people died and laying bare the extent of the violence that swept much of the country and prompted the government to declare a nationwide state of emergency and a nighttime curfew.

The death toll, which stood at 525, according to the latest Health Ministry figures, makes Wednesday by far the deadliest day since the 2011 popular uprising that toppled longtime ruler and autocrat Hosni Mubarak — a grim milestone that does not bode well for the future of a nation roiled in turmoil and divisions for the past 2 years.

Health Ministry spokesman Khaled el- Khateeb put the number of injured on Wednesday at 3,717.

The Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group from which ousted President Mohammed Morsi hails, put the death toll at a staggering 2,600 and the injured at around 10,000.

The discrepancy between the government’s body count and that of the opposition highlights the difficulty of obtaining reliable figures in an environment where journalists have had difficulty operating freely and in safety.

Fresh escalation

The clashes continued on Thursday, with supporters of Morsi launching attacks on police posts in two provinces, killing at least two policemen, security officials said.

A 21- year- old policeman was fatally shot in the chest and arm in the North Sinai town of Al-Arish after gunmen attacked the Police Club.

Another policeman was killed in an attack on a police station in the central city of Assiut.

In Cairo, Islamist protesters stormed the Giza governorate headquarters and set it on fire, state television reported. Private Egyptian television channel CBC showed footage of the headquarters in flames as men tried to douse the fire with hoses.

Near the site of one of the smashed encampments of Morsi supporters in the eastern Nasr City district, an Associated Press reporter on Thursday saw dozens of blood soaked bodies stored inside a mosque. The bodies were wrapped in sheets and still unclaimed by families.

Relatives at the scene were uncovering the faces in an attempt to identify their loved ones. Many complained that authorities were preventing