20 People İnjured İn Central Egypt Clashes

At least 20 people were injured in Thursday clashes between security forces and supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi in central Egypt.



The violence broke out when police used teargas and buckshot to disperse a demonstration by villagers in the central Beni Sueif province, staged to protest the arrest of fellow residents for alleged links to the Muslim Brotherhood.



Protesters from Al-Maymoun village blocked the Cairo-Beni Sueif road and railways and set tires alight.



Interior Ministry officials could not be reached for comment.



Egyptian authorities have unleashed a massive crackdown on the Brotherhood since last July's ouster of elected president Mohamed Morsi – a Brotherhood leader – by the army.



Since then, Egypt's military-backed authorities have rounded up all of the Brotherhood's senior and mid-ranking members, thousands of whom remain in detention.



Last December, the Egyptian government branded the Brotherhood, the group from which Morsi hails, a "terrorist" organization.



By Ashraf Mustafa



englishnews@aa.com.tr - Kahire