Cairo, April 26 (RHC)-- At least two people have been killed and dozens more injured as protesters held anti-government rallies in several cities across Egypt.  A female protester was killed as Egyptian security forces used tear gas and buckshot to disperse a rally in the city of Fayoum, just south of the capital Cairo on Friday.
 
Reda Ramadan was shot by a birdshot pellet in the stomach during clashes with security forces, a source in the National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy said.  The other victim was a 52-year-old man who suffocated by tear gas during clashes in Cairo.
 
The clashes erupted following Friday prayers.  Supporters of ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, and the Muslim Brotherhood movement were chanting slogans against the military-backed interim government as well as former Defense Minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s presidential bid.
 
Sisi led the overthrow of Morsi, suspended the constitution and dissolved the parliament in July last year.  He is also accused of leading a severe crackdown against the supporters of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.
 
The army-backed government has detained hundreds of students since Morsi was ousted.  More than 500 people have also been handed death sentences and hundreds of others have been given lengthy jail terms.
 
Rights groups say at least 1,400 people have been killed in the political violence since Morsi’s ouster, "most of them due to excessive force used by security forces."