Egypt's army says it did not excessively shoot at journalists in Beheira governorate on Monday during the curfew, where one was killed  and another injured.

 

Forces at the security point south of Damanhour city in Beheira did not intend to kill the victims, Egyptian Armed Forces Spokesman Colonel Ahmed Ali says in a statement released late on Monday.

 

Bureau chief of Al-Ahram newspaper in Beheira, Tamer Abdel-Raouf, was shot dead when army forces at the security point fired at his car hours after the state-imposed 7pm curfew. Abdel Raouf was driving home after a meeting with the Beheira governor along with his colleague, Hamed El-Barbary, the local bureau chief of Al-Gomhoreya newspaper, who was injured.  

 

In his statement, Ali said that the passengers "breached the curfew, drove quickly towards the security checkpoint and did not comply with calls to stop or warning shots fired in the air."

 

He added that the car did not stop for the forces to know the identity of its passengers.

 

"This raised the forces' suspicions," Ali said, "They then dealt with the car directly, which led to casualties."

 

On 14 August, Egypt’s interim Cabinet re-introduced a state of emergency, which includes a daily curfew starting at 7pm until 6am in 14 governorates.

 

Journalists and media personnel are officially exempt from the curfew.

 

Ali extended his condolences to the journalism community in Egypt and called upon all citizens to abide by the rules of the curfew, especially as "tensions" are on the rise nationwide.