(DNE File Photo)
By Salma Abdullah
Five people were injured in clashes between Muslim Brotherhood members and opposition Tamarod campaigners in Fayoum on Monday.
Clashes erupted when Brotherhood members confronted Tamarod campaigners collecting signatures from citizens in repudiation of President Mohamed Morsi. The security forces then intervened to separate them.
The Tamarod campaign issued a statement on Monday on their official Facebook page regarding the clashes, stating that members of Tagarod, the petition campaign collecting signatures to support the president, had instigated the clashes. Tamarod claims the latter had “beaten” them and called them “remnants” of the former regime.
According to the statement, Tagarod members used light arms and chains in the clashes that resulted in the injury of five Tamarod members.
“The Muslim Brotherhood bears full responsibility for the incident,” the statement read. “We filed a report against them.”
Hoda Abbas, a Tamarod member, said that the clashes were initiated by members of both the Brotherhood and the Islamist group Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya. “They were furious over the death of Mohamed Shalakany,” Abbas said, referring to a young man who was hit with birdshot at a march supporting the presidency on 16 June, and died Sunday night.
Tensions in Fayoum are part of a series of nationwide clashes between supporters of President Morsi and opposition movements prior to 30 June protests calling for early presidential elections.
In a Monday press conference, Tamarod announced collecting 2.6 million signatures from a branch of its campaign that started last week in Upper Egypt.
Tamarod, which had previously announced the collection of 15 million signatures, said that the total number of petitions against the president will be announced in further detail in a press conference on Tuesday.
