1 killed at pro-Morsi protest in Egypt

A man was killed in clashes Friday between supporters and opponents of Egypt's toppled Islamist president in Suez as police used tear gas against his supporters in Cairo, officials said. The 23-year-old was hit by gunfire when clashes broke out between supporters and opponents of Mohamed Morsi, and three policemen were wounded, local officials and medics in the canal city said. Protesters in Suez also torched a police car, security officials said, adding that a similar incident took place in Qena in southern Egypt. Tear gas grenades were used against Islamists in several Cairo districts after protesters took to the streets for weekly pro-Morsi demonstrations. The protests went ahead despite the country being gripped by icy winter weather. Protesters lobbed petrol bombs at the police in the capital, the security officials said. The interior ministry said 54 protesters were arrested nationwide. Such demonstrations are regarded as illegal, since they do not conform to a new law requiring organisers to give three days' notice of a protest. In Fayyum south of Cairo two policemen were wounded by buckshot at a protest, the sources said. Police also intervened in the Nile Delta city of Mahalla to break up clashes between pro- and anti-Morsi supporters. The pro-Morsi Islamist Anti-Coup Alliance organises regular protests demanding Morsi's reinstatement following his July 3 removal by the military. Since Egypt's first democratically elected president was ousted after just a year in office, authorities installed by the army have cracked down hard on his supporters. More than 1,000 people, most of them pro-Morsi, have been killed and thousands of Islamists have been arrested since the crackdown began in mid-August. Source: AFP