Fierce clashes have erupted once again between Egypt’s security forces and anti-government protesters, leaving a 50-year-old protester dead in the city of Alexandria.


Riot police attacked thousands of protesters holding a massive rally against the military-installed authorities in the volatile city on Friday.

Demonstrations are also underway in Cairo, Giza, Faiyum, Damietta, Port Said and other cities. In Cairo, police used tear gas and fired birdshot at the protesters in Nasr City and Ain Shams. Security forces also stormed al-Azhar University dormitories.

Also on Friday, two members of the Muslim Brotherhood were shot dead in Gharbia province. Security forces claimed that the two opened fire while trying to set fire to a police checkpoint.

The week-long rallies have been called by the Anti-Coup Alliance, a group of Islamic parties. They have urged their supporters to denounce General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s presidential bid.

State institutions and media are all geared toward Sisi's candidacy, a situation which undermines the chances of a fair competition for any other candidate.

Egypt's political parties and figures have repeatedly called on the country’s army to stay out of politics.

Sisi's victory would place Egypt's presidency back in the hands of a top military official just three years after Egyptians rose up against former dictator Hosni Mubarak, an air force officer who ruled Egypt for nearly three decades.

Anti-government demonstrators have been holding rallies almost on a daily basis since the army toppled Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically-elected president. The demonstrators demand that Morsi be reinstated.

Egypt’s military-backed rulers have tightened security laws, targeting supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood.

According to UK-based rights group Amnesty International, 1,400 people have been killed in the violence since Morsi’s ouster in July last year, "most of them due to excessive force used by security forces."