An Egyptian Health Ministry official said that 149 people have been killed and another 874 were injured in clashes between security forces and supporters of the ousted president Mohammed Morsi, the Associated Press reported. The Egyptian police swept in early Wednesday morning with armored vehicles and bulldowers in an effort to clear two encampments of pro-Morsi supporters. 25 were reported killed in Minya province south of the capital and one each in the cities of Alexandria, Assiut and Ban Suef, according to the AP.
Among the dead was Sky News' cameraman Mick Deane who was shot and killed by gunfire. He was 61-years-old. Dean worked for Sky News for 15 years, based in Washington and then Jerusalem.
Egypt's interim president declared a month-long state of emergency to combat the worsening violence on Wednesday.
The assaults that sparked the bloody confrontations came after days of warnings by the military-backed interim administration that replaced President Morsi after he was ousted in a July 3 coup, a term the Obama administration refuses to label it as, the AP reported.
The military ousted Morsi after millions of Egyptians took to the streets to call for him to step down.
Security officials said train services between the north and south of the country have also been suspended.
Also, churches belonging to Egypt's minority Coptic Christians were torched in three southern provinces - Minya, Assiut and Sohag. In the city of Bani Suef south of Cairo, protesters set three police cars on fire, the AP reported
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