A female demonstrator was killed in clashes with Egyptian police during a rare leftwing protest in central Cairo Saturday, the eve of the anniversary of the 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak, an official said. A health ministry spokesman said the woman died of birdshot wounds. Fellow protesters said she was hit with birdshot fired by police to disperse the march.
Islamists have called for protests on Sunday in a bid to revive what they say was the "revolution" that overthrew Mubarak and briefly brought an Islamist to power as president. Police have warned they would confront protests "decisively." Police have cracked down on the Islamists since the military overthrew Mubarak successor Mohamed Morsi in 2013 after a year in power, and hundreds have been killed in clashes.
The crackdown has also extended to leftwing and secular dissidents who initially supported Morsi's overthrow but have since turned against the new authorities, accusing them of being authoritarian. Saturday's central Cairo protest was organised by the Socialist Popular Alliance party.