At least 29 people have been killed in clashes in Egypt
as the country marks the anniversary of the 2011
uprising which overthrew President Hosni Mubarak, the
health ministry says.
Rival demonstrations of supporters and opponents of
the military-backed government took place in Cairo.
But police broke up anti-government protests, and
arrests were reported in Cairo and Alexandria.
Hundreds have died since July when the army deposed
President Mohammed Morsi.
Extra security measures were in place for Saturday.
Flags and banners
Egyptian Interior Minister Muhammad Ibrahim had urged
Egyptians not to be afraid to go to events marking the
anniversary of the uprising.
Thousands of supporters of the military and the
government gathered in high-profile locations including
Tahrir Square - the focal point of the 18-day 2011
popular revolt.
Participants waved Egyptian flags and banners showing
army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whom many urged
to run for president.
But police dealt harshly with anti-government protesters
in Cairo, with 29 killed and 147 injured in street clashes,
health ministry official Ahmed Kamal confirmed to the
BBC.
The majority died in Cairo, with two dead in the
southern city of Minya and another - a woman - killed in
Egypt's second city of Alexandria.
Meanwhile on Saturday, an army helicopter crashed in
the restive Sinai peninsula, with an unconfirmed report
that its crew of five soldiers was dead.
A large car bomb exploded near a police building in
Suez, at the southern entrance of the Suez canal, with
reports that nine people were injured.
At least 18 people died in violence on Friday.
Huge crowds turned out in Cairo's Tahrir Square - the
focal point of the 2011 uprising - urged on by members
of Egypt's military-backed government
Many held posters - such as this one - urging military
chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to "complete his good
deed" and run for president
Arrests
The BBC's Yolande Knell, in Cairo, says that three years
on from an uprising that raised hopes of political reform
in the Arab world's most populated country, rival
demonstrations are showing the deep divisions.
There is an extreme anti-Islamist emphasis at pro-
government rallies, with chants for "the execution of the
Brotherhood" and fury at anyone believed to be critical
of the post-coup leadership, reports said.
At anti-government protests, police chase protesters
into side streets, firing live rounds as well as tear gas
and birdshot.
One of those killed was a member of the April 6
movement, which led protests against Mubarak before
and during the 2011 uprising and also opposed Mr
Morsi, the group said.
Scores of arrests have been reported in Cairo and
Egypt's second city, Alexandria - not just of Islamist
supporters of deposed President Morsi, but secular
opponents of the military government who have also
been protesting.
"The only thing allowed is Sisi revolutionaries," one of
the activists, blogger Wael Khalil, told the Associated
Press news agency.
"This was supposed to be a day to mark the
revolution... I don't get it. Do they think that there will
be a working democracy this way?"
Opponents of the military regime - both Islamist and
secular - attempted to gather but were dispersed by
security services using live rounds, tear gas and birdshot
Here, a plain-clothes security officer - holding a gun -
detains a a supporter of ousted Islamist President
Mohammed Morsi in the Cairo neighbourhood of Nasr
City
Al-Jazeera journalist Peter Greste - detained by
Egyptian authorities for nearly a month - has written a
letter from solitary confinement, describing Egypt's
prisons as "overflowing with anyone who opposes or
challenges the government".
The Anti-Coup Alliance, led by Mr Morsi's Muslim
Brotherhood, called in a statement for 18 days of
protests beginning on Saturday, mirroring the 18 days of
protests that three years ago led to Mr Mubarak
stepping down.
The Brotherhood has regularly held protests since the
overthrow of Mr Morsi. Hundreds of its supporters have
been killed, and thousands detained.
It has been declared a "terrorist organisation" and
accused by the interim government of being behind a
string of violent attacks in recent months, which the
Brotherhood denies.
In a defiant statement on Saturday, the Brotherhood
vowed not to leave the streets "until it fully regains its
rights and breaks the coup and puts the killers on trial",
reported AP.
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