Cairo clashes leave 1 Muslim Brotherhood supporter dead

PanARMENIAN.Net - Clashes erupted in several Egyptian cities on Friday, October 5 after supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood took to the streets to demand the end of army-backed rule, Reuters reported.

The marches were the most ambitious attempt by the Brotherhood to press its demands since August 14, when authorities smashed two pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo and then declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew.

An Egyptian army vehicle fired live rounds in the direction of Muslim Brotherhood supporters who had been pushed away from Cairo's Tahrir Square by security forces, a Reuters witness said. Medical sources said one Brotherhood supporter had died from a gunshot wound in clashes in the center of the capital.

Onlookers threw rocks at the pro-Morsi protesters, who hurled them back. Riot police had earlier fired tear gas to push back the march.

Thousands of protesters headed toward the site of a former Brotherhood protest camp in northeast Cairo which was crushed by security forces in August. By late afternoon, protesters had retreated from the area.

Members of the Brotherhood, which has been banned by court order, tried to reach the presidential palace but were turned back by police.

The state news agency said protesters failed to reach the defense ministry and a Republican Guard facility.

Fighting also erupted in Egypt's second city Alexandria and two Nile Delta cities.

The Brotherhood won every election after a popular uprising ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011, but became deeply unpopular under Morsi's rule.

Morsi was accused of trying to give himself sweeping powers and entrenching the Brotherhood - allegations he denies.

Egypt has been gripped by political and economic turmoil since army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi overthrew Morsi, the country's first freely elected president, on July 3 after mass protests against his rule.