At least one person was killed during a protest against President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi od Egypt’s government.
Thousands of protesters had on Friday defied a police crackdown to demonstrate against the Egyptian government for the sixth straight day.
The protests – dubbed by demonstrators as a “Friday of rage” – took place across cities, towns and rural areas in Egypt afternoon prayers, including in the capital, Cairo.
Videos of the protests on social media showed protesters burning tyres and chanting: “say it out loud and don’t be scared, el-Sisi has got to go”
In another protesters and riot police squared off in a neighbourhood before police charged at the crowd, causing people to scatter in all directions.
One video purportedly taken in the village of Kafr Saad in Damietta showed police wielding guns as they attempted to disperse protesters.
A 25-year-old protester, Sami Wagdy Bashir, was reportedly killed in al-Blida village in the Giza governorate.
Three others were wounded in the same shooting, the Najda human rights group said.
Mohamed Ali, a prominent opposition figure and a former military contractor living in exile, offered condolences to Bashir’s family.
In some areas, the protests continued late into the night, videos posted online by activists showed.
Several people were also arrested.
The latest wave of anti-government rallies was triggered by el-Sisi’s decision to demolish what he called illegal construction nationwide. Many of the affected neighbourhoods house some of the country’s poorest communities, many who have already been suffering because of the ailing economy, made worse by the coronavirus lockdown.
The demonstrations also come a year after a limited protest movement kindled by Ali, who accused the government of wasting money on lavish construction projects.
The protests last year triggered a wide-ranging crackdown, with Amnesty International saying at least 4,000 people were arrested.
Protests have become very rare in Egypt under el-Sisi, who has banned unauthorised demonstrations after taking power in 2013 following the military’s removal of then-President Mohammad Morsi.
Ahead of Friday’s protests, Ali called on Egyptians to take to the streets again in a video posted on Facebook, saying, “This is our chance to liberate our country.”
