At least 15 people are reported to have been killed as Egyptian security forces moved in to clear two protest camps occupied by supporters of deposed president Mohammed Morsi in the capital, Cairo. Police cut off side streets, bursts of gunfire were heard and bulldozers were seen moving in. Security forces fired tear gas and helicopters flew overhead. The protesters want Mr Morsi, ousted by the military on 3 July, reinstated. The interior ministry issued a statement saying security forces were taking "necessary measures" against the protest at the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in the east of Cairo and the protest in Nahda Square in the west. The statement said a safe exit would be provided for protesters and they would not be pursued, "except those who are wanted by the prosecution". The interior ministry is keen "not to shed any Egyptian blood", the statement went on. The Nahda Square camp near Cairo University has now been completely cleared, according to the ministry. Large plumes of smoke rose over parts of the city as the operation to clear the camps continued. The Muslim Brotherhood, which supports the ousted president, put the number of those killed at between 25 and 30. At least one member of the security forces is among the dead, officials say. Muslim Brotherhood TV called for people to send cars to the sit-ins to take casualties to hospital. Protesters have been camped outside the mosque, and in Nahda Square since Mr Morsi's overthrow and more than 250 people have been killed in clashes with the security forces since then. On Tuesday, one person was killed in a confrontation between supporters and opponents of Mr Morsi in Giza after people marched from Nahda Square to a nearby complex of government buildings to protest against the appointment of several military officers as provincial governors. Speaking to the BBC on Monday, Egypt's Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy said the sit-ins could not continue "endlessly". He said the authorities had been trying to seek an agreement through dialogue. "If the police force take their procedures, they will do that in accordance with the law by court order and in accordance to the basic norms on which these things are done." Protesters have piled sandbags and big rocks around the sit-in, while men wearing motorcycle helmets and carrying sticks have been deployed in anticipation of a raid.