At least one person is being reported killed after an armored vehicle ran over protesters in two different Egyptian cities as tension continues to increase between police and protesters. Police have been accused of using excessive force, in what some activists said was the solidification of a return to a lack of transparency and violence from the security forces. The protester was crushed to death, activists confirmed to Bikyanews.com. The violence in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura and the Suez Canal city of Port Said came as American Secretary of State John Kerry was in Cairo talking with opposition figures ahead of his meeting with the president and defense minister on Sunday. Liberals and secularists are angry that Washington is urging them to take part in parliamentary elections and see US support for the vote as backing Islamists who are in power. The two cities outside Cairo have been calling for a civil disobedience campaign to bring down President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood group. Protesters and opposition parties accuse Morsi and the Brotherhood of trying to monopolize power and of reneging on promises of reform. They also want parts of a new constitution amended and are calling for the formation of a more inclusive government. The violence in Egypt has been nearly unending since the two-year anniversary of the 18-day uprising that ousted former dictator Hosni Mubarak on January 25. Scores of Egyptians have been killed in nationwide violence as police continue to use violence to silence opposition. Human rights organizations have reported an upsurge in torture tactics against protesters in the country by security forces in what they say is a return to “Mubarak-era” policies by the Muslim Brotherhood and their President Morsi. BN
