CAIRO — At least 95 Egyptians were killed yesterday after security forces moved in on protesters demanding the reinstatement of President Mohamed Morsi, and the government imposed a month-long State of Emergency as unrest swept the most populous Arab nation.

Troops opened fire on demonstrators, injuring more than 500, in violence that brought chaos to areas of the capital and looked certain to further polarise Egypt’s 84 million people between those who backed the ousted President, and the millions who opposed his brief rule.

The State of Emergency, which started at 4pm yesterday, is set to last a month.

A 7pm-6am curfew has also been imposed in Cairo and 10 provinces.

In the streets around the Rabaa Al Adawiya mosque in north-east Cairo, where thousands of Morsi supporters have staged a sit-in for the last six weeks, riot police wearing gas masks crouched behind armoured vehicles, tear gas hung in the air and burning tyres sent plumes of black smoke into the sky.

The unrest spread beyond the capital, with the cities of Minya and Assiut, and Alexandria on the northern coast, also affected.

Mr Mohamed El Beltagy, a leader of Mr Morsi’s Brotherhood movement that led the protests, warned of wider conflict and singled out the head of the armed forces, who deposed Mr Morsi on July 3 following mass protests that called for his resignation.

“I swear by God that if you stay in your homes, Abdel Fattah Al Sisi will embroil this country so that it becomes Syria. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi will push this nation to a civil war so that he escapes the gallows,” he said.

Nine hours after the start of the operation, crowds of protesters were still blocking roads, chanting and waving flags as security forces sought to prevent them from regrouping.

“At 7am they came. Helicopters from the top and bulldozers from below ... Police and soldiers, they fired tear gas at children,” said teacher Saleh Abdulaziz, 39, clutching a bleeding wound on his head. “They continued to fire at protesters even when we begged them to stop.”

The move to break up the camps suggested the powerful army had lost patience with persistent protests that were crippling parts of the capital and slowing the political process.

The interim government issued a statement saying security forces had showed the “utmost degree of self-restraint”, reflected in low casualties compared to the number of people “and the volume of weapons and violence directed against the security forces”.

It added that it would press ahead with implementing an army-backed political transition plan in “a way that strives not to exclude any party from participation”.

But, in a further sign of the rift between faith and political power, Al Azhar, the pre-eminent Muslim religious authority, said it had no advance knowledge that the authorities would use aggressive means to disperse the protesters.

A statement cited by Agence France-Presse news agency called on all sides to “exercise self-restraint” and said the “use of violence has never been an alternative to a political solution”.

The government, which envisages holding new elections in about six months to return democratic rule to Egypt, urged the protesters not to resist the authorities, adding that Muslim Brotherhood leaders must stop inciting violence.

The latest crackdown came after international efforts failed to mediate an end to the political stand-off between Mr Morsi’s supporters and the army-backed government which took power after his ouster.

The storming of the camps drew strong international reaction, with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon condemning the use of violence by security forces.

“While recognising that political clocks do not run backwards, the Secretary-General also believes firmly that violence and incitement from any side are not the answers to the challenges Egypt faces,” Mr Ban’s spokesperson said in a statement.

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