Clashes between Morsi backers and opponents in Cairo kill two, including one child

CAIRO - Agence France-Presse

Muslim Brotherhood supporters protest in support of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in front of the Qubba Palace in Cairo Nov.8. REUTERS photyo

A child and another person died Nov. 8 in clashes between supporters and opponents of Egypt's ousted president in Cairo, state news agency MENA said, as Mohamed Morsi's backers protested in several cities.

The 12-year-old boy and a man died in Cairo's southern Giza neighbourhood, MENA quoted emergency services as saying. Protesters with firearms wounded three others there before police intervened to separate the two sides, arresting arrested several people, the interior ministry said.

In all, 20 people were wounded in violence around Egypt, particularly in cities in the Nile Delta, MENA reported. Security officials also told AFP that police had fired tear gas to break up protests in Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt's second city. Morsi's supporters have held near-daily protests since his overthrow and arrest by the military on July 3.

Several thousand marched on Nov. 8 in different provinces across the country. Morsi appeared in court on Monday on the first day of his trial for inciting the murder of protesters outside the presidential palace in December 2012. It was his first public appearance since his ouster.

Despite regular calls to protest, Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood-backed supporters have been battered by a police crackdown that has severely hit their ability to stage large-scale demonstrations. About 1,000 of them have been killed in clashes and more than 2,000 arrested.