Scattered clashes during Friday protests

Protests by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood turned violent on Friday as security forces attempted to disperse crowds in Cairo, Alexandria, Giza and other governorates.

Protesters in the Giza district of Dokki reportedly set fire to tires in Tahrir Street, after which the fire department moved to extinguish the scattered blazes. After a period of gridlock, the street was reopened to traffic by security forces.

According to the privately owned Youm7 newspaper, one man was arrested in nearby Mohandiseen for calling for a Brotherhood march.  A security officer was injured in clashes that took place in the Haram district, also in Giza.

Photojournalists from the Masrawy news portal and Youm7 who were reportedly detained by security forces earlier on Friday were released after their memory cards were wiped clean.

Protests have been a regular Friday occurrence since the ouster of deposed President Mohamed Morsi last July, with security forces regularly moving in to disperse the street movements. The Brotherhood was designated a terrorist organization late last year, and as a result those arrested during protests have since received harsher treatment and sentences.

In central Cairo, protesters marched from Abdel Moneim Riad Square on the Corniche en route to Boulaq Abu el-Ela, chanting against the military and police as they raised posters bearing the black and yellow four-fingered salute representing the deadly dispersal of the Rabea al-Adaweya sit-in last August. They dispersed shortly afterward, fearing clashes with residents and security forces.

Cairo’s Ain Shams neighborhood saw fiercer clashes as protesters reportedly used fireworks and Molotov cocktails to ward off security forces, who used tear gas to disperse them. A similar standoff took place in the Helwan area of Cairo.

In Alexandria, protests carrying the Rabea sign marched around the Montaza and Asafra areas, but were quickly dispersed by security forces.

In the Kafr al-Dawwar area of the Beheira governorate, residents and shop owners in the main street attacked a march by Brotherhood supporters.