Political clashes in Cairo's streets turn deadly

At least five people were killed in clashes in Cairo on Friday involving security forces, Muslim Brotherhood supporters and residents, days after hundreds of protesters opposed to the military-backed government were sentenced to death.

Newspaper Al Dustour said one of its journalists, Mayada Ashraf, was among those killed. She was covering the fighting, but her cause of death remains unclear.

A statement from Egypt’s Interior Ministry confirmed that five people were killed in clashes in Cairo, and blamed Brotherhood gunmen for the deaths.

The ministry also said 79 protesters, accused of possessing gasoline bombs and firearms, were arrested in the clashes.

The Brotherhood's press office in London accused Egyptian security forces of shooting at peaceful protesters.

Friday’s clashes were the latest unrest in Egypt, which has been plagued by instability since the country’s Brotherhood-backed president, Mohamed Morsi, was ousted from power in July.

Since Morsi's overthrow, authorities have mounted a campaign against the Brotherhood, killing hundreds of supporters and arresting thousands of members, including the group’s top leadership and Morsi himself.

Field Marshal Abdel Fattah El Sissi, the country’s army chief and interim leader who strong-armed Morsi out of office, announced on Wednesday that he was resigning from the military and running for president.

Supporters of the Brotherhood, outlawed and branded a "terrorist group" by the army-backed authorities, see Sissi as the leader of a coup against a democratically elected president.

A court sentenced more than 500 Brotherhood supporters to death on Monday, triggering clashes between security forces and protesters in which at least one man was killed.

Egypt has seen three years of political turmoil since an uprising ended President Hosni Mubarak's three decades of one-man rule in 2011.  

Wire services