Egyptian authorities yesterday authorized police to use deadly force to protect themselves and key institutions from attacks after supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi burnt two local government buildings and dozens of churches in less than 24 hours.The military backed government has declared a month-long state of emergency after scores of people were killed when security forces stormed protest camps in Cairo.The camps had been occupied by supporters of former president Mohammed Morsi, who was deposed in early July.The health ministry says 149 people have been killed. But the Muslim Brotherhood, which is behind the protests, says more than 2,000 have died.The state of emergency is scheduled to last for a month.It imposes a curfew in Cairo and several other provinces between 19:00 local time (17:00 GMT) and 06:00.The measure was taken because the "security and order of the nation face danger due to deliberate sabotage, and attacks on public and private buildings and the loss of life by extremist groups," the presidency said in a statement.In the wake of the violence, Vice-President Mohammed El Baradei has announced his resignation from the interim government. Armoured bulldozers moved deep into the main protest camp outside Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque shortly after dawn on Wednesday morning. Officials say another protest camp, at Nahda Square, has been cleared and a mopping-up operation in the surrounding streets was under way.Reporters described wounded protesters being treated next to the dead in makeshift field hospitals.The 17-year-old daughter of leading Muslim Brotherhood figure Mohamed el-Beltagy was among the dead, reports say. Asmaa el-Beltagy was shot in the back and chest, her brother said.A cameraman working for Sky News, Mick Deane, has also been killed as well as a reporter for Gulf News, Habiba Ahmed Abd Elaziz.
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