17-year-old killed in Alexandria during clashes between protesters, security

A 17-year-old girl was killed in Alexandria on Friday during clashes between Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated protesters and security forces, Health Ministry Secretary Ayman Abdel Moneim told the state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram.

Sondos Reda Abu Bakr, a high-school student, was shot to death when she got caught up in the violence, according to Moneim, who blamed Brotherhood members for committing acts of violence that led to her death. She was reportedly shot in the chest at close range.

Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson Abdullah al-Haddad told Mada Masr that Abu Bakr was "an anti-coup protester who was shot by security forces during the dispersal of the protest," denying that the Brotherhood had any involvement in her death.

The clashes also resulted in three other injuries, Al-Ahram reported. The privately owned newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm alleged one of the injured was a child, although his or her identity is unknown.

An Alexandria Security Directorate official told Al-Ahram that 25 Brotherhood members were arrested after the clashes. The detainees were allegedly arrested in possession of rubber bullets, Molotov cocktails and fireworks, the official claimed.

There were reports of small protests led by what local media identified as Muslim Brotherhood supporters across the country throughout Friday.

Dozens protested in Faisal following Friday prayers. Security forces fired tear gas and set up road blocks to disperse the demonstrators.

The protesters were holding signs calling for “legitimacy” and a new “revolution,” as well as signs bearing the four-fingered salute that has become the symbol of the Rabea al-Adaweya massacre. In August 2013, more than 1,000 people were killed in the deadly dispersal of the Rabea al-Adaweya sit-in, acts that the Human Rights Watch characterized as “crimes against humanity.”

The protesters also carried signs with pictures of the martyrs from the January 25, 2011 revolution, and called for even bigger protests on Sunday, the revolution’s fourth anniversary, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.

In Cairo, riot police shut down “acts of violence” perpetrated by purported Brotherhood members, Al-Ahram reported. These allegedly included hit-and-run operations in which Brotherhood supporters threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at security forces, the newspaper said.

In December 2014, the Muslim Brotherhood was classified as a terrorist organization. Since former President Mohamed Morsi’s ouster in 2013, the majority of Muslim Brotherhood leaders have either fled the country or been imprisoned.

*Correction: This article was amended on January 25, 2015. A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Abu Bakr's age as 15. This article was also updated to include a statement by Brotherhood officials.