Soldiers reportedly attacked supporters of former President Mohamed Mursi on Monday.

At least 42 people were yesterday, July 8, 2013 killed in a shooting incident in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, BBC quoted officials and the Moslem Brotherhood as saying. The incident came amid continuing unrest over the overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi on July 3, 2013 by the military who were urged on by millions of demonstrators.

Meanwhile, Egypt's interim leader, Adly Mansour, expressed sorrow over the deaths, urging restraint amid ongoing unrest. He also ordered an investigation into the deaths. Both the Brotherhood and the Egyptian Health Ministry had earlier said at least 42 people were killed, including an army officer. Some 300 people were reportedly wounded. The Moslem Brotherhood said the army raided its sit-in at about 4 a.m local time as protesters were performing dawn prayers in front of a Presidential Guard barracks. According to the army, a “terrorist group”  tried to storm the barracks.

TV channels showed images of dead and injured people being taken to a makeshift hospital in the Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque where Brotherhood supporters have been based. The AFP news agency quoted the Freedom and Justice Party, the Brotherhood's political wing as calling on Egyptians to demonstrate against the killings. It accused the army of trying to steal the revolution with tanks and urged the international community to intervene to stop Egypt from becoming another Syria.

There was a sombre mood in Cairo yesterday as people woke up to news of the killings, with eyewitness accounts of what happened outside the Presidential Guards Club inflaming already simmering tensions. As an immediate consequence, the ultra-conservative Islamist Nour party, which initially supported the military coup, said it was withdrawing from stalled negotiations to form an interim government for the transition to fresh elections, Reuters news agency reported.

The army's post-Mursi roadmap provides among others for the temporary suspension of the Constitution, the swearing of an interim President and the putting in place of a civilian technocratic government. The Supreme Court is also expected to prepare for new parliamentary and presidential polls.