ONE KILLED, 78 INJURED IN PRO-MORSI RALLIES THROUGHOUT EGYPT
Cairo, 17 Shawwal 1434/24 Agustus 2013 (MINA) – Clashes between supporters and opponents of Egypt’s ousted President Mohamed Morsi in several Egyptian provinces, one person was killed and 78 injured on Friday
Anti-coup protesters staged rallies nationwide following Friday prayers to condemn the military coup against Egypt’s elected leader and last week’s violent dispersal of anti-coup sit-ins in the capital.
In the Nile Delta city of Tanta, a man identified as Mohamed Abdullah Gad al-Rab was killed by thugs while participating in an anti-coup demonstration, Muslim Brotherhood sources told the Anadolu Agency quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
His body was taken to Teba Hospital, the sources added, declining to provide further details.
The fatality has since been confirmed by the Health Ministry, which noted that 35 other people had been injured in the clashes.
Meanwhile, according to the security chief in Egypt’s Gharbiya province (of which Tanta is the regional capital), at least 30 Brotherhood members were arrested during the violence on charges of possessing weapons and blunt instruments.
Security forces had attempted to break up the violence between the two sides with teargas, the security chief said.
In the adjacent province of Daqahliya, clashes between anti-coup protesters and security forces backed by unidentified individuals in Mansoura left 38 people injured, medical sources said.
According to eyewitnesses, security forces surrounded an anti-coup march that had set out from the Iman Mosque and allowed unknown individuals to attack marchers with guns and blunt instruments.
A nearby Muslim Brotherhood office was ransacked and torched, they added.
Minor clashes were also reported in several cities of the Sharqiya province after dozens of anti-coup protesters took to the streets chanting against the army and police and calling for Morsi’s reinstatement as president. No casualties were reported.
In the south, security forces fired teargas to disperse anti-coup protesters in Assiut, eyewitnesses said. The ensuing clashes left five people injured, reportedly by gunshots.
In Minya, also in Upper Egypt, hundreds of Morsi backers blocked a main road in the Deir Mawas area, prompting security forces to fire teargas to disperse them. Both sides exchanged fire but no casualties have yet been reported, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent.
Unidentified gunmen also opened fire on an anti-coup march in Faisal, Giza, eyewitnesses said. The shooting led to the dispersal of marchers who sought refuge in adjacent streets. (T/P09/E1).
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).
