Violence mars anniversary of Egypt's constitutional referendum

A 13-year-old boy was shot dead in southern Egypt on Wednesday in clashes between police and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and deposed president Mohamed Morsi, the health ministry said.

Nationwide, students opposing the July 2013 military-led overthrow of Morsi took part in demonstrations to mark the third anniversary of a 2011 constitutional referendum held after the military’s ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak, a strongman who led Egypt for more than two decades.

“Amr Aly Mohamed was killed by a gun shot during clashes between police and protesters," said Ahmed Anwar, deputy head of the Ministry of Health for the city of Beni Suef. The teenager was killed outside Beni Suef University.

About 300 pro-Morsi women protested outside Al Azhar University in Cairo, chanting "down with military rule." Later, about 500 male demonstrators took to the streets outside Al Azhar. Police fired tear gas and birdshots at them, wounding about 40, according to medical sources. There were also reports of demonstrations at Cairo University.

"The violence is likely to increase as the political process continues, especially if Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announces his [presidential] candidacy, but it won't have a big effect on political measures," said Mohamed Gomaa, political analyst at Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.

Sisi, Egypt’s temporary military ruler, is expected to stand in presidential elections, which are due to be held in April.

Morsi, who was elected in 2012, was removed from office by the military on July 3 following massive demonstrations against him. He is in jail facing four separate charges, which he denies, including espionage and conspiring to commit acts of terror.

Morsi’s ouster was followed by competing wide-scale pro- and anti-Morsi demonstrations across Egypt. Security forces killed over 1,000 people in their bid to clear pro-Morsi protest camps from city centers.

The government also cracked down on the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi’s base of support, arresting most of its leadership.

In December, Deputy Prime Minister Hossam Eisa declared the Brotherhood a “terrorist organization” following a massive bombing in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura, north of Cairo, which left 16 people dead. The Brotherhood denies it has links with violent militant groups and says it is committed to peaceful activism.

Elsewhere in Egypt on Wednesday, in Qalubiya province, north of Cairo, two soldiers were killed in a raid on members of Sinai-based armed group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, the Interior Ministry said, adding that six members of the group were killed and eight arrested in a raid on a weapons storage facility.

Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis has claimed responsibility for several high-profile attacks, including the Mansoura bombing and an assassination attempt on the interior minister last year.

Wire services