At least 51 Egyptians died on Monday when the military opened fire on Morsi supporters, making it the deadliest incident since Morsi was ousted by the military last Wednesday.
Protesters said they were performing morning prayers outside the Cairo barracks where Morsi is allegedly held when officers began shooting, reports Reuters. Military spokesman Ahmed Ali said that armed men attacked military troops near the Republican Guard compound.
“The armed forces always deal with issues very wisely, but there is certainly also a limit to patience,” said Ali at a press conference, where he also presented alleged video evidence of the attack on the officers.
Many of the deceased belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood, which maintains that its members staged a peaceful sit-in when they were attacked by the military, contrary to Ali’s report.
Emergency services reported that 435 were injured.
Adli Mansour, who was recently named interim president, said he has ordered an investigation into the incident, according to the BBC.
The incident caused the conservative Salafist Nour party, which supported Morsi’s removal, to withdraw from talks to choose an interim prime minister.
The Islamist Nour party recently blocked the nomination of Nobel peace Laureate Mohamed ElBaradei to interim prime minister. Its withdrawal of support for the interim government could potentially open this option for the position.
Thirty-six Morsi supporters were killed by military fire on Friday in a protest against the military’s removal of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically-elected president.