By Mohamed Kairy
CAIRO
Four Egyptians were killed Friday in protests staged by supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi in the volatile Arab country.
Three protesters were killed by gunfire when security forces dispersed two rallies staged by pro-Morsi demonstrators in eastern Cairo, a source in the pro-Morsi National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy said.
According to the source, two young men, including one minor, were shot with live ammunition during the dispersal of a weekly pro-Morsi rally in Cairo's northwestern Marg district.
The two slain protesters sustained gunshot injuries to the abdomen and back respectively, the source added.
Another young protester was killed after being shot with birdshot during the dispersal of a similar demonstration in eastern Cairo's Matariya district, the source said.
The Health Ministry confirmed the two deaths in Marg district, but there was no mention of the third fatality.
The Health Ministry, however, said a 38-year old man was killed in the Giza suburb of Boulaq in clashes with Muslim Brotherhood members.
The four men are the first to die as a result of political violence since former army chief Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi, widely regarded as the driving force behind Morsi's ouster last summer, was sworn in as president earlier this month.
According to the pro-Morsi bloc source, two other protesters were arrested during the melee in Matariya.
The source said that Egyptian security forces had opened fire on demonstrators during the protest dispersal.
Eight more people had been injured in the clashes, the Interior Ministry, said, without specifying their political affiliations.
The ministry went on to assert that 33 protesters had been arrested for taking part in "unauthorized protests."
Legislation issued last November by former interim president Adly Mansour allows the security forces to forcibly disperse unauthorized demonstrations.
Since Morsi's ouster almost one year ago, hundreds have been killed and tens of thousands detained in an ongoing crackdown on dissent by Egypt's army-backed government.
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