Preliminary hospital reports have put the number of people killed during Egypt's 25 January uprising–which led to the toppling last week of longstanding president Hosni Mubarak–at 356, not including policemen and prisoners, recently-appointed Health Minister Sameh Farid said on Wednesday.
Farid noted that the figure included 24 people killed on 2 February, a day that featured violent clashes between protesters gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square and elements loyal the the embattled regime.
In a statement to reporters, Farid said that 5500 people had been injured throughout the course of the uprising, including 123 people still receiving medical treatment at hospitals affiliated with the Ministry of Health.
The minister added that the figures were not final, especially given that a number of people had been buried by their families without obtaining official death certificates from government prosecutors or ministry offices.
Farid stressed that the state had no intention to play down the total death toll in its final report, noting that the deceased would be honored by the state as martyrs and that their relatives could expect to receive monthly financial disbursements in compensation for their losses.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
