Heavy gunfire rang out Friday throughout Cairo as tens of thousands of supporters of Egypt’s ousted president clashed with armed vigilantes in the fiercest street battles to engulf the capital since the country’s Arab Spring uprising. At least 64 people were killed in the fighting nationwide, including police officers.
Carrying pistols and assault rifles, residents battled with protesters taking part in what the Muslim Brotherhood called a “Day of Rage,” ignited by anger at security forces for clearing two sit-in demonstrations Wednesday in clashes that killed more than 600 people.
Military helicopters circled overhead as residents furious with the Brotherhood protests pelted them with rocks and glass bottles. The two sides also fired on one another, sparking running street battles throughout the capital’s residential neighborhoods.