Following a clash between police and Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Egypt, at least three people have been confirmed dead. The deaths were reported in Cairo, southern Minya province and the Nile Delta.
Meanwhile, the interior ministry has confirmed the arrest of 265 Muslim Brotherhood supporters.Authorities have cracked down on the Brotherhood since July, when Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, who belongs to the group, was deposed by the army. The movement was formally designated a terrorist organisation on Wednesday.
As Friday prayers ended, riot police tried to stop Mr Morsi's supporters holding protest rallies. A man was killed in clashes in the city of Samalut in Minya, while an 18-year-old Muslim Brotherhood supporter was shot dead amid violent confrontations in the Nile Delta city of Damietta, police said.
The interior ministry said a third person was killed in Cairo, without giving further details.
At the Islamic Al Azhar University, in Cairo's Nasr City district, police fired tear gas as demonstrators protesting over the death of the student hurled stones.
There was also violence between police and Muslim Brotherhood supporters in several other parts of the capital. A security official said protesters set fire to police cars in Cairo and in Minya. Clashes were also reported in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya. The interior ministry said several police officers were hurt.
The government said the movement was behind a suicide bombing of a police headquarters in Nile Delta - a charge it strongly denied.
It is the latest measure taken against the group, which is being targeted by the military-backed interim government. Thousands of Brotherhood members, including its leadership, have been arrested and many put on trial.
Members were rounded up on Thursday after a bomb hit a bus in Cairo, injuring five people.
US Secretary of State John Kerry called his Egyptian counterpart to "express concern" about the recent waves of arrests and called for an "inclusive political process", State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
No comments:
Post a Comment