7 People Die and Hundreds Are Injured in Cairo Clashes

At least seven people were killed and more than 200 were injured in overnight clashes between Islamists and Egyptian riot police, health officials said on Tuesday. After days without major violence, the clashes highlighted the growing political disaffection among supporters of Egypt’s former president, Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted by the military almost two weeks ago.

The clashes shrouded well-known Cairo landmarks with tear gas and smoke from burning tires, including the downtown Ramses Station and a square near Cairo University. The battles appeared to signal an escalation by the Islamists, who had largely confined their protest to a central encampment since June 8, when soldiers and police officers opened fire on a pro-Morsi gathering, killing more than 50 people.

On Monday evening, thousands of Islamists left the encampment, blocking a bridge that is a central artery for the city’s traffic. They pelted arriving police officers with rocks and the officers, backed by civilians wearing hard hats, responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. Clashes were also reported in other cities around the country.

The police arrested more than 400 people in Monday night’s violence, state media reported. It was a stark contrast to their failure to arrest almost anyone during dozens of nights of street fighting over the two and a half years since the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak, and it underscored the re-engagement of the security forces in a new battle against the Islamists, their old foe.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/17/world/middleeast/egypt.html?_r=0