Egypt: 6 dead as Brotherhood tries to re-energize protest movement

At least six people were killed in political violence in Egypt on Friday in the buildup to a much-anticipated day of protests on Sunday calling for a rollback of the recent military takeover. The violence flared across the country as the new government installed on July 3 by Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi struggles to consolidate its control of the streets. Its Islamist opponents, meanwhile, are seeking to re-energize their protest movement against the takeover, Voice of Russia reported. Four civilians were killed in Cairo, the official news media reported, as marches called by the Islamist supporters of the ousted president, Mohamed Mursi, tried to converge on Tahrir Square, the trampled roundabout at the center of the 2011 revolution against President Hosni Mubarak. There were conflicting accounts of how they had died. Interior Ministry officials described all four as Islamist opponents of the government who had been killed in clashes with other civilians, but some people said they had died as a result of tear gas and live ammunition fired by security forces in their attempts to hold back the marches. Two soldiers were killed in an assault on an army convoy near the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, the state news media reported, and security officials attributed the attack to militants. The fighting seemed to stop by the 7 pm curfew in effect here and in much of Egypt on Fridays, the customary day for street protests after worshipers gather for midday prayers. The clashes appeared to be a warm-up of sorts for Sunday, when the Islamist-dominated coalition against the takeover has called for a bigger day of protests centered on Tahrir Square.