One man killed on anniversary of Mohamed Mahmoud

One man was killed and 27 others injured during violent confrontations in Tahrir Square on Tuesday, the second anniversary of the Mohamed Mahmoud Street clashes between protesters and the Interior Ministry.

Ahmed al-Ansary, head of the Emergency Services Authority (ESA), told the privately owned Youm7 newspaper that an unidentified 18-year-old man died in the Qasr al-Eini Hospital after receiving birdshot injuries to the head.

Clashes broke out twice on Tuesday. At around 2 p.m., protesters demonstrating in support of Minister of Defense and Commander-in-Chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi were driven out of the square by other demonstrators. Eyewitnesses reported seeing civilians carrying firearms during the clashes. In the evening, a confrontation between protesters and security forces stationed outside the Arab League building led to rock throwing and the use of teargas.

On Wednesday, the public prosecutor’s office said it was questioning 30 individuals arrested by security forces in Tahrir Square in connection with Tuesday’s clashes, according to a report in the state-owned Al Ahram newspaper. Those arrested are being investigated on suspicion of possessing weapons and in connection with the injuries and death which occurred in Tahrir.

The Free Egyptians Party (FEP) issued a statement Tuesday evening that it was withdrawing from Tahrir Square because protesters were chanting slogans of a nature that would "drag the revolution and its youth into violence that might lead to new victims," according to a report in the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper. The statement warned against "traitorous elements" that sought to draw young people into supporting "the forces of darkness and terrorism." FEP further said that if youth engage in further unrest the country could be pulled into "a new tunnel of violence and fresh divisions."

Elsewhere in Egypt, the ESA reported that eight people were injured in clashes in Daqhileya, two in Alexandria and four in Damietta.