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Egypt protesters killed as state crackdown widens Egyptian protesters killed as state crackdown widens
(35 minutes later)
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. Eleven people were shot dead as supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood clashed with police across Egypt on Friday, defying an ever-widening state crackdown on the movement that ruled the country until six months ago.
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.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.
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.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. The crackdown has reduced but not entirely broken the ability of the Brotherhood to mobilise protests. It has lately been relying on students to sustain momentum against what it refers to as the "putschist regime" governing Egypt.
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 Cairo district of Nasr City riot police in bulletproof vests fired teargas at protesters throwing fireworks and stones. Similar clashes erupted across the country, as has become commonplace after midday prayers each Friday, not a working day in Egypt.
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 health ministry said three protesters were killed in different districts in Cairo. A security source said they died from bullet wounds, though it was unclear if the police or armed civilians had shot them.
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. In a separate incident, showing the deepening divisions since Morsi was ousted, a man yelling insults at pro-Brotherhood demonstrators marching near his house was shot dead by the protesters, a security source said.
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. A male protester and a woman were shot dead in the coastal city of Alexandria, medical and security sources said. It was not clear whether the woman was a protester or an onlooker.
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. Another 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 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. In the rural province of Fayoum, south-west of Cairo, three protesters, including a student, died from bullet wounds to the chest and head, local Health Ministry official Medhat Shukri said.
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. Another university student was shot dead during clashes in the southern town of Minya. The health ministry said 42 people were wounded nationwide.
Around 350 police and soldiers have been killed in bombings and shootings since Morsi was ousted. Police arrested 122 Brotherhood members for possession of weapons, the interior ministry said in a statement. The Brotherhood says its supporters are unarmed.
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.
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