Three Killed in Cairo as Morsi Backers Clash with Opponents

Three people were killed as supporters and opponents of Egypt's ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi clashed after Friday prayers, security officials said, a day after five people died in sporadic violence.

Supporters of Morsi have attempted to stage rallies since Thursday, the first anniversary of a deadly police crackdown in Cairo that left hundreds dead, but security forces have swiftly quashed them.

On August 14, 2013, after then army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had removed Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president, police cracked down on his supporters at protest camps in Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya and Nahda squares.

On Friday, two people were killed when pro-Morsi supporters clashed with their opponents after the weekly Muslim prayers in Cairo's western neighborhood of Faisal, a security official said.

Clashes erupted when pro-Morsi marchers set off fireworks close to shops and residences in the area, the official said, adding the two men were killed by live ammunition and birdshot.

Riot police later intervened and also clashed with pro-Morsi protesters. A security officer and three conscripts were wounded in Faisal, the security official said.

The interior ministry said that "an armed and masked Morsi supporter" was killed by security forces south of Cairo when they intervened to break up a clash between the two groups.

Five people including a police officer were wounded in a separate protest in north Cairo.

Nationwide, 29 people were arrested during protests, security officials and state news agency MENA reported.

On Thursday, four people were killed by gunshots across Cairo when Morsi supporters clashed with riot police and civilian opponents.

A policeman was also gunned down in the city by unknown assailants on Thursday. The interior ministry blamed Morsi supporters for his killing.