Morsi supporters ousted by government forces

Egyptian security forces have stormed a town controlled by supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi and arrested 56 residents as part of a crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood, 
officials said.

Mohamed Morsi was deposed by the Egyptian military. Picture: AP

The forces entered the town of Delga in Minya province, about 190 miles south of Cairo, early yesterday morning, clearing barricades that had been erected by the Morsi supporters. Gunshots were exchanged but there were no official reports of injuries.

Delga has been under Islamist control since clashes between Mr Morsi’s supporters and security forces across the country following the violent clearance of pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo on 14 August.

About 70 people were killed in Minya province on that day alone. The Islamists had torched about 20 churches and homes in Delga in August and spray-painted X marks on shops owned by Christians.

Dalga’s minority Christians, about 20,000 of the town’s 120,000 residents, have been paying militants for their 
protection.