Egypt Security Forces Arrest Brotherhood Supporters After Clashes

Security forces have arrested a number of Muslim Brotherhood supporters on Friday in several Egyptian cities following clashes between the Islamist group’s supporters and opponents , state news agency MENA reported.

In Alexandria, Egypt’s second largest city, army vehicles were deployed in several districts after Brotherhood supporters were chased by local residents near Al-Qaed Ibrahim mosque, which has been a flashpoint for demonstrations since the 2011 January uprising.

Clashes also erupted in Alexandria’s Corniche sea-front road, prompting police to fire tear gas. MENA said a number of “rioters” were arrested in the city shortly afterwards.

The agency also said “a large number” of Brotherhood supporters were apprehended in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura after clashes broke out between protestors and locals, which left several injured.

In the industrial city of Mahalla, 11 Brotherhood supporters were arrested for wielding sticks, gas masks, and the well-known logo bearing the four-finger “Rabaa” salute, Al-Ahram’s Arabic website reported.

There were similar skirmishes in the northern province of Sharqiya, where ousted president Mohamed Morsi was born.

In Cairo, two Brotherhood marches reached the outskirts of Rabaa El-Adawiya mosque and Ittihadeya Presidential palace in the early evening hours but were prevented from entering the areas by barbed wire manned by police and army soldiers.

Protest marches were called by the Muslim Brotherhood for Friday and Saturday in Cairo and other cities to mark the one-month anniversary of the violent dispersal by the police of two pro-Morsi sit-ins at Rabaa Al-Adawiya and Nahda, which left 600 dead and more than 40 officers killed.

Source : Ahram