6 killed, 50 injured in Egypt clashes

On Friday, tens of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood activists and their supporters staged nationwide demonstrations against a brutal crackdown by the army that toppled Morsi last month.

An Egyptian security official said six people died and at least 50 injured during the clashes, and police fired teargas at the protesters in Cairo's several districts. The official added that police also arrested at least 20 protesters.

The demonstrators demanded Morsi’s reinstatement and called for the release of Brotherhood activists arrested by police. They also chanted slogans against army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The protests were held against the backdrop of deployment of large numbers of security forces across the country.

The government of army-appointed interim President Adly Mansour has launched a bloody crackdown on Morsi supporters and arrested more than 2,000 Brotherhood members, including the party’s leader, Mohamed Badie, who was detained on August 20.

The demonstrations come as ex-dictator Hosni Mubarak is now under house arrest at a military hospital following his release from jail on August 22, whereas Morsi, the country’s first democratically president, who was removed from office by the army on July 3, remains under arrest.

About 1,000 people were killed in a week of violence between Morsi anti-coup protesters and security forces after police dispersed their protest camps in a deadly operation on August 14.

The massacre sparked international condemnation and prompted world bodies to call for an independent investigation into the violence.
HK