CAIRO
Two people were killed and 78 injured in Friday clashes between supporters and opponents of ousted President Mohamed Morsi in several Egyptian provinces.
Demonstrators staged rallies nationwide following Friday prayers to condemn what they call the "military coup" against Egypt's elected leader and last week's violent dispersal by security forces of two pro-Morsi sit-ins in which hundreds were killed.
In the Nile Delta city of Tanta, a man identified as Mohamed Abdullah Gad al-Rab was killed by thugs while participating in a pro-Morsi demonstration, Muslim Brotherhood sources told Anadolu Agency.
His body was taken to Teba Hospital, the sources added, declining to provide further details.
The fatality was later confirmed by the Health Ministry, which noted that 35 other people had been injured in the clashes.
Another injured protester, also in Tanta, later succumbed to his wounds, a security source said.
According to the security chief in Egypt's Gharbiya province (of which Tanta is the regional capital), at least 30 Brotherhood members were arrested during the violence on charges of possessing weapons and blunt instruments.
Security forces had attempted to break up the violence between the two sides with teargas, the security chief said.
In the adjacent Daqahliya province, meanwhile, clashes between pro-Morsi protesters and security forces backed by unidentified individuals left 38 people injured in the city of Mansoura, medical sources said.
According to eyewitnesses, security forces surrounded a pro-Morsi march that had set out from the Iman Mosque and allowed unknown individuals to attack marchers with guns and blunt instruments.
A nearby Muslim Brotherhood office was ransacked and torched, they added.
Minor clashes were also reported in several cities of the Sharqiya province after dozens of anti-coup protesters took to the streets chanting against the army and police and calling for Morsi's reinstatement as president. No casualties were reported.
In Upper Egypt, security forces used teargas to disperse pro-Morsi demonstrators in the city of Assiut, eyewitnesses said. The ensuing clashes left five people injured, reportedly by gunshots.
In the Minya province, also in Upper Egypt, hundreds of pro-Morsi demonstrators blocked a main road in the Deir Mawas area, prompting security forces to disperse them with teargas. Both sides exchanged fire but no casualties were reported, according to an AA correspondent.
Unidentified gunmen also opened fire on a pro-Morsi march in Faisal, Giza, eyewitnesses said, forcing marchers to seek shelter in adjacent streets.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
