One person was killed and dozens injured in clashes between police and protesters in Egypt’s Nile Delta city of Mansura, according to security sources.
A week of demonstrations in Mansura turned violent late on Friday when police fired tear gas at protesters outside the governorate headquarters, witnesses said.
“One protester died while 30 protesters and 10 policemen were injured in the clashes,” a security official told AFP.
The security official said protesters had tried to storm the government building, prompting the police to fire tear gas. ONTV footage of the clashes showed police forces dragging and beating a demonstrator.
According to a medical report obtained by Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram, the victim, identified as Hossam Abdel-Azim, suffered multiple fractures, including to his skull, after being run down by a Central Security Forces (CSF) vehicle. Abdel-Azim’s family denied that he has been part of the protests.
Meanwhile, protesters torched a police station in Port Said on Saturday. The interior ministry said in a statement about 500 protesters threw stones and petrol bombs at the police station, setting it on fire, and then blocked fire engines from approaching the blaze.
Egypt has been gripped by nationwide unrest in recent months, with protesters taking to the streets to denounce Islamist President Mohammed Mursi for failing to address political and economic concerns.
Mansura is the latest province to launch a campaign of civil disobedience, following in the footsteps of the canal cities of Port Said, Ismailiya and Suez.
Opponents accuse Mursi of failing the revolution that brought him to the presidency and of consolidating power in the hands of his Muslim Brotherhood.