Egypt

Riot Police Deploy after Night of Clashes near Palace Killed One Citizen

ClashesNearPalaceEgyptian riot police deployed on Saturday near the presidential palace after a night of clashes between security forces and petrol-bomb throwing protesters that killed one man and injured dozens.

The 23-year-old died of a gunshot wound as police used birdshot and tear gas on demonstrators who targeted the palace in rallies against Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi late on Friday, AFP quoted a senior medical official as saying.

Fifty-three people were also injured, said the official, while the interior ministry reported 15 of its men wounded by birdshot.

Police said they arrested 20 people, and were filmed on television beating and dragging a naked man to an armored vehicle, outraging Mursi critics who compared the incident to practices under deposed leader Hosni Moubarak.

On Saturday morning, there was no sign of any protesters, and streets in the area reopened to traffic, though they were littered with stones and other debris.

In the capital’s Tahrir Square, the situation was also calm after clashes in the latest day of protests that were also staged in other cities.

Interior Minister Mohammad Ibrahim ordered a probe to “hold accountable” the policemen who beat the naked protester, his office said.

The presidency said security forces would deal with violent protests with “utmost decisiveness” and that it would hold opposition groups found to have incited the clashes “politically accountable.”

A statement on Mursi’s Facebook page said the protesters sparked the violence by trying to break into the palace.

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