Irish siblings 'in Cairo jail'

An Irish woman who says her four siblings are being held in prison in Cairo says she fears her 17-year-old brother may have been separated from his older sisters.

Nasaybi Halawa, whose father is the Imam of Ireland's largest mosque in Dublin, said:

An Irish woman has claimed that four of her siblings are being held in a Cairo prison after being caught up in protests in Egypt over the last few days.

Nasaybi Halawa, whose three sisters and a brother became trapped in a mosque yesterday as it was surrounded by Egyptian security forces, says she is concerned for their safety.

Read: Irish family 'trapped in Cairo mosque'

Omaima Halawa, an Irish citizen inside a mosque surrounded by security services in Cairo said conditions inside the mosque are austere with no food, a lack of clean water, dozens of injured people and few medical supplies.

Ms Halawa was taking part in a demonstration when violence forced them into the mosque at about 7pm last night.

Her family is now too scared to leave without help and assurances from a diplomat. She claimed that men outside the mosque have threatened to kill her if she leaves the building.

• Read more: Irish family 'trapped in Cairo mosque'

Four Irish citizens are among hundreds of people trapped in an Egyptian mosque.

The three women and a teenager are children of Hussein Halawa, the Imam of Ireland's biggest mosque in Dublin.

The four siblings, who are on holiday in Egypt, sought refuge in the mosque after 80 people were killed during violent clashes between supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi and the security forces in Cairo yesterday.

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Omaima Halawa, 21, who is with her two sisters Somaia, 27, and Fatima, 23, as well as their younger brother Ibrihim, 17, described the scene in Cairo as very frightening.

"We are surrounded in the mosque both inside and outside," she told Irish national broadcaster RTE.

"The security forces broke in and threw tear gas at us."