2 Protesters Killed İn Cairo: Pro-Morsi Bloc
Friday's protests come as part of earlier calls for a week of protests by the pro Morsi alliance.
Two protesters were shot dead Friday and an unspecified number of others were injured as security forces broke up protests staged by supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi in two eastern Cairo districts, sources from Morsi's main support bloc have said.
"Security forces fired on a protest in the Al-Zeitoun district, killing a boy who was shot in the abdomen and injuring others," a member of the pro-Morsi National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy told Anadolu Agency.
The source said army and police forces had attacked the protest using live ammunition and teargas.
"A 30-year-old protester named Bekheet Mohamed sustained multiple birdshot injuries when another protest was dispersed in Matariya," another pro-Morsi alliance source said.
The Egyptian government could not be immediately reached for comment. But Egypt's military-backed authorities routinely deny allegations that they use live ammunition to disperse protests.
Clashes broke out in several other parts of the country as security forces dispersed pro-Morsi demonstrations staged to mark the passage of one year since the elected president's forcible removal from office by the military.
Friday's protests come as part of earlier calls for a week of protests by the pro-Morsi alliance to mark one year since the July 3 ouster of the country's first democratically elected president.
At least three protesters and one police officer were killed on Thursday during rallies staged by Morsi supporters in different parts of Egypt.
Since Morsi's overthrow one year ago, Egypt's military-backed authorities have waged a fierce crackdown on his supporters, leaving hundreds killed and tens of thousands said to be detained.
Morsi, who hails from the embattled Muslim Brotherhood group, was removed from office by the military following massive opposition protests that began on June 30 of last year.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, the former army chief who was declared the winner of May polls, is widely seen as the chief orchestrator of Morsi's ouster and subsequent imprisonment.
While Morsi supporters describe his ouster as an illegitimate "military coup," his critics call it an "army-backed uprising."
By Islam Mosaad
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en - Kahire