MARIAM RIZK
Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — Clashes erupted Friday in the Egyptian capital Cairo between protesting supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and local residents opposed to his Muslim Brotherhood, killing two people, an Egyptian health official said.

A security official said that police fired tear gas to disperse the fighting between Morsi supporters and residents in Cairo’s Matariya neighborhood who turned out against their protest. Residents brought the dead to a nearby hospital and told police that birdshot was fired at them during the clashes. The official said security is investigating whether they were killed in the clashes or in a separate incident. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.

Emergency services chief Mohammed Sultan said three people were wounded in the fighting.

Weekly demonstrations by pro-Morsi protesters have been frequently turned into clashes with security forces or with hostile residents. But protesters’ numbers on the street have sharply decreased amid a security crackdown that left hundreds killed and put at least 22,000 in jail.

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