Clashes kill 13 as Morsi backers rally in Egypt

Published on January 4, 2014 by admin    ·(TOTAL VIEWS 1,017)      No Comments

Cairo: At least 13 people died in clashes Friday across Egypt as police dispersed thousands of protesters demanding the reinstatement of deposed president Mohamed Morsi, the health ministry said.

The protests came after an alliance that backs Morsi called for demonstrations ahead of a new hearing on Wednesday in a trial of the ousted president.

Police moved in swiftly to disperse the rallies, after warning they would not tolerate protests by Morsi\’s Muslim Brotherhood following its designation as a terrorist group last week.

Five were killed in Cairo and the rest in other cities, the ministry said, adding that at least 57 people were wounded.

The ministry did not say whether the dead were protesters, police or bystanders.

The interior ministry said 122 protesters were arrested.

Police fought street battles with rock-throwing protesters in several districts of Cairo.

Protesters in the capital set fire to a police vehicle with petrol bombs, a security official said, with state media saying residents extinguished the fires.

In the upscale neighbourhood of Maadi, police fired tear gas near a military hospital as protesters threw fireworks at them, an AFP reporter said.

Protesters also clashed with police on a road along the Nile River and inside the suburb. (AFP)