(AFP PHOTO / AHMED TARANA)
A fresh round of Friday protests claimed the lives of three protesters while 27 were injured and 47 were arrested in demonstrations that spread across the country. The Ministry of Interior has claimed that protesters targeted security forces using live ammunition and birdshot.
The heaviest clashes took place in the Alf Maskin area of Cairo, in which one person died. “The police were able to control and deal with armed elements in Ain Shams that fired live ammunition and cartridge wildly” an interior ministry statement said.
The Muslim Brotherhood has meanwhile claimed that seven protesters were killed in the neighbourhood, a bastion of pro-Morsi resistance, with eight killed nationwide.
The interior ministry statement also claimed that six protesters were arrested in Suez in possession of two weapons and ammunition. Protesters were allegedly caught in Fayoum with two grenades, a pocketknife, and a check for EGP 5000. Four policemen were injured in Suez and were taken to the hospital for treatment.
Two cars owned by policemen were set ablaze in Fayoum. Six protesters were injured in scuffles between security forces, residents and protesters in Zagazig. Police shot volleys of teargas to disperse the protest.
According to the interior ministry, Friday evening saw a Molotov cocktail attack on a police car in Aswan which resulted in no injuries. The flames were quickly extinguished.
Alf Maskin, in Cairo’s Ain Shams neighbourhood, saw some of the worst violence of the third anniversary of the 25 January uprising. Wiki Thawra listed the names, ages, and cause of death of 30 protesters in Alf Maskin, although official numbers are much lower.
