This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/03/two-egyptian-protesters-killed-police-clash-cairo

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Egypt protests: two demonstrators killed during clashes with police Egypt protesters killed as state crackdown widens
(about 2 hours later)
Two protesters were killed as supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood clashed with police in Cairo and other cities across Egypt, medical and security sources said, in a show of defiance despite a state crackdown on the Islamist movement. Four people have been shot dead as supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood clash with police in Cairo and other cities across Egypt, defying an ever-widening state crackdown on the Islamist movement.
Islamists opposed to the army's overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi have been holding daily demonstrations ever since the army-backed government declared the Brotherhood a terrorist group last month, a move that upped the penalties for dissent. Islamists opposed to the army's overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi in July have been holding daily demonstrations, even after the army-backed government declared his Brotherhood a terrorist group last week, increasing the penalties for dissent.
One demonstrator was shot dead by police in the Suez canal city of Ismailia, after a march set off from a mosque after midday prayers, medical sources said. The government is using the new classification to detain hundreds of Brotherhood supporters. Thousands more, including top leaders of the group, have been in jail for months, arrested in the aftermath of the army takeover.
A male protester and a woman were shot dead during clashes between pro-Brotherhood demonstrators and police in the coastal city of Alexandria, medical and security sources said. There were conflicting reports as to whether the woman was a protester or an onlooker.
Another demonstrator was shot dead by police in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia after a march set off from a mosque following midday prayers, medical sources said.
In the rural province of Fayoum, south-west of Cairo, a protester died from a bullet wound to the head, local health ministry official Medhat Shukri said.In the rural province of Fayoum, south-west of Cairo, a protester died from a bullet wound to the head, local health ministry official Medhat Shukri said.
The violence took place less than two weeks before a vote on a new constitution, a milestone in the roadmap that the army-backed authorities say will pave the way for a return to democratic rule by next summer. The Brotherhood – the country's oldest and best-organised Islamist movement – is not only under pressure due to mass arrests of its members, orders that the assets of Brotherhood leaders be frozen, and the designation of the group as a terrorist organisation; a new constitution to be voted on this month also bans religiously based political parties and gives more power to the military.
The referendum on 14 and 15 January is a milestone on the roadmap which the army-backed authorities say will pave the way for a return to democratic rule by mid-year.
The charter would be a further step towards the complete removal of the Brotherhood from public life after it won every election in Egypt since veteran autocrat Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in the 2011 uprising.
The movement was banned by a court in September, but the terrorist designation gives the state greater power to carry out arrests of any citizen seen to display loyalty to the group.
Authorities have pledged to secure the referendum, despite the daily street protests and frequent bomb attacks against the security services over the last few months. They generally blame the Brotherhood for the unrest, including a suicide bomb attack for which a radical Sinai-based group called Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis claimed responsibility. The Brotherhood condemned that attack, which killed 16 people, and says it is committed to peaceful activism.
Around 350 police and soldiers have been killed in bombings and shootings since Morsi was ousted.
A conservative estimate puts the overall death toll since Morsi's fall at more than 1,500. Most of those killed have been Morsi supporters, including hundreds gunned down when the security forces cleared a protest vigil outside a Cairo mosque.
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.