Barbarity in Egypt: shooting even in a mosque.
Three witnesses saw gunmen firing from a window of the Al-Fath mosque, where supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi took refuge during fierce clashes in the heart of the Egyptian capital on Friday.
By Issam Abdallah and Crispian Balmer
CAIRO, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Security forces evacuated a mosque in Cairo after an armed clash with Muslim Brotherhood supporters on Saturday, as the Egyptian government grapples with deepening chaos and considers banning the Islamist group.
Three Reuters witnesses saw gunmen firing from a window of the Al-Fath mosque, where supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi took shelter during fierce clashes in the heart of the Egyptian capital on Friday.
Another gunman was shown on TV firing from the mosque's minaret, and soldiers outside returned fire. Hours later, police arrived and cordoned off the building, making dozens of arrests while crowds in the streets cheered them.
It was unclear if anyone died in the clashes – the fourth day of violence in Egypt that has left nearly 800 people dead. Disturbances were also reported in the second largest city, Alexandria, where a Muslim Brotherhood office was set on fire.
With the unrest growing on both sides, Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi proposed dissolving the Muslim Brotherhood, betting heavily on a bloody struggle between the state and the Islamists for control of the most populous nation in the Arab world.
"We are not facing political divisions, but rather a war waged by extremists who are daily moving towards terrorism," presidential political advisor Mostafa Hegazy told reporters.
If Beblawi goes ahead with the proposal to ban the Brotherhood, it would force the group underground and could allow for large-scale arrests of its members outside the law.
Many Western allies have criticized the recent wave of deaths, including the United States, alarmed by the turmoil in a country that has a strategic peace agreement with Israel and operates the Suez Canal, one of the major arteries of global trade.
Saudi Arabia, however, gave its heavy support to the government on Friday, accusing its old enemies in the Muslim Brotherhood of trying to destabilize Egypt.
The Ministry of Health stated that 173 people died in clashes across the country on Friday, including 95 in central Cairo, after the Brotherhood called for a "Day of Rage" to denounce the crackdown on its followers on Wednesday, which killed at least 578 people.
Fifty-seven police officers died over three days, the Interior Ministry said.
Among those killed on Friday was the son of the Brotherhood leader, Mohamed Badie, who was shot near the Al-Fath mosque, which was quickly transformed into an improvised morgue and refuge for hundreds of Morsi supporters trying to escape the bloodbath.
The building was surrounded overnight, and police fired tear gas into the prayer room in the early afternoon, filling the room with white smoke and leaving its occupants breathless.
Shortly afterwards, shots were fired from both sides.
Egyptian authorities say they have detained more than a thousand Islamists following Friday's protests, showing a handcuffed man on TV with an automatic weapon in his lap.