CAIRO (AA) – At least three people were killed and dozens injured in nationwide violence that marred Friday protests calling for the reinstatement of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's Health Ministry said.
In a statement, the ministry said two people had been killed in an attack on a police station in eastern Cairo.
In the canal city of Port Said, meanwhile confrontations between pro- and anti-Morsi protesters in the Masakan Nasser district left one dead and 22 injured, Health Ministry official Helmi al-Afni told Anadolu Agency.
In the adjacent province of Ismailia, a pro-Morsi march came under attack by unidentified individuals armed with stones and firearms, leaving at least ten injured, the Health Ministry said.
In Giza, six people were injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire at a march of Morsi backers in the province's main public square.
Elsewhere in Giza, two were said to have been killed when security forces exchanged fire with unidentified gunmen. The fatalities, however, have yet to be confirmed by an independent source.
In the Nile Delta province of Sharqiya, meanwhile, 37 people were injured in similar skirmishes, Sherif Makeen, head of Sharqiya's local ambulance service, said.
The Muslim Brotherhood, for its part, the group from which Morsi hails, said that one person had been killed in the Sharqiya clashes – a claim denied by medical and security sources.
Minor clashes were also reported in the coastal city of Alexandria and in Tanta, capital of the Nile Delta Gharbiya province.
Dozens were also reportedly injured in Ain Shams, eastern Cairo, when gunmen opened fire on a pro-Morsi rally from a nearby rooftop.
In the Qalioubiya province, dozens of Morsi opponents surrounded a local mosque in the city of Banha to prevent a pro-Morsi march from setting out, prompting clashes between the two sides.
Police arrived at the scene moments later and ended the siege, however, arresting several Brotherhood members, eyewitnesses said.
In the Fayoum province south of Cairo, security forces manning a local court complex fired into the air to disperse a pro-Morsi march, eyewitnesses said.
Elsewhere in the same province, dozens were wounded in the town of Atsa – including four who sustained gunshot injuries – during clashes between supporters and opponents of the deposed leader.
The Friday protests were called for by the National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, a coalition of largely Islamist groups led by the Muslim Brotherhood.
The pro-Morsi coalition has also called for a civil disobedience campaign starting Friday, calling the move an "effective measure against the coup leaders aimed at forcing them to reverse the coup and meet revolutionary demands."
On Thursday, the Interior Ministry threatened to use all means necessary, including live ammunition, against protesters found to be carrying arms or attempting to attack state facilities.
Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, was ousted by the powerful army on July 3 following mass protests against his administration.
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