Tuesday, 14 January 2014

Violence erupts amid Egyptian vote

Violence marked the beginning of a two-day referendum as Egyptians went to the polls Tuesday for the second time in 13 months to reshape their country's future.

Six people died in clashes, according to a CNN count.

One person was killed, two were injured and 10 were arrested in clashes Tuesday afternoon outside a polling station in Nahya, Giza, the semiofficial Al-Ahram news agency said, citing the Interior Ministry.

The dead protester had been demonstrating in favor of Mohamed Morsy, the former Muslim Brotherhood leader who became the nation's first democratically elected
President in June 2012 but was ousted from the job a year later in a military coup.

Four other people were killed and
seven wounded in Upper Egypt's Sohag governate in a pro-Muslim Brotherhood march, the agency said, citing the Interior Ministry.

A two-hour drive south of Cairo, in the city of Beni Suef, a 25-year-old member of the Muslim Brotherhood was fatally shot in a clash with security forces, state-run media
reported. The MENA and EgyNews agencies said the man was trying to storm a polling station.

Earlier Tuesday, the Muslim Brotherhood said peaceful protesters in Beni Suef had been chanting "against the referendum of blood."

The violence began even before polls opened at 9 a.m., when a bomb exploded near a Cairo courthouse. No one was hurt, security officials said.
Despite the explosion, Egyptians waited in long lines to cast their ballots.

"This will not scare us," said Mohamed Moharram, a teacher
who lives near the court. "In half an hour, I will go to my poll station and cast my ballot."
www.benlatestnews.com

0 comments:

Post a Comment