516 'Brotherhood Elements' Arrested on Egypt Anniversary

Egyptian police arrested more than 500 supporters of the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood when deadly violence erupted on the anniversary of the 2011 uprising, the interior minister said Monday.

Protesters and security forces clashed Sunday after Islamists called for demonstrations against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government as Egypt marked the fourth anniversary of the toppling of ex-strongman Hosni Mubarak.

Supporters of Mubarak's successor, Islamist Mohamed Morsi, have regularly clashed with security forces since he was ousted by then army chief Sisi in July 2013.

Rights groups have repeatedly denounced the use of "excessive force" by the authorities to crush opposition rallies and accused police of making sweeping arrests.

On Sunday, "we arrested 516 elements from the Muslim Brotherhood group who were involved in firing ammunition, planting explosives and bombing some facilities," said Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim, who has overseen a bloody police crackdown targeting the Brotherhood.

Ibrahim told a press conference that 20 people were killed Sunday, most of them in Cairo's northern district of Matareya where clashes lasted more than 12 hours, adding two policemen were among the dead.

A health ministry official said one protester was killed in the northern city of Alexandria in similar clashes.

Three suspected militants also died when they mistakenly blew themselves up while planting explosives in the Nile Delta region, north of Cairo.

The authorities have blamed the Muslim Brotherhood for the violence that has rocked Egypt since Morsi's ouster, including bombings and shootings targeting policemen and soldiers.

More than 1,400 people have been killed in a government crackdown targeting Morsi supporters, while over 15,000 have been imprisoned since he was ousted.

Dozens have also been sentenced to death after speedy trials which the United Nations say is "unprecedented in recent history".

The Muslim Brotherhood has denied government accusations of involvement in attacks on security forces, mostly claimed by jihadist groups.

Egypt's deadliest militant group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, said in a video posted Monday on the Internet that it executed a policeman kidnapped in Rafah bordering the Gaza Strip earlier this month.

For its part, Human Rights Watch accused Egyptian police of using "excessive force" against protesters on Sunday.

"Four years after Egypt’s revolution, police are still killing protesters on a regular basis," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director of HRW.

The New York-based HRW called for "an independent investigation into the authorities’ excessive use of force" to quell "apparently peaceful protests".

Ibrahim dismissed HRW's criticism.

"This organization has never been objective in its reports," Ibrahim said, blaming the Muslim Brotherhood for Sunday's violence.

Tensions had surged ahead of the anniversary, and a female demonstrator was killed in clashes with police during a rare leftwing protest in Cairo on Saturday.

Shaima al-Sabbagh died of birdshot wounds when police fired to disperse a march, fellow protesters and HRW said.

An 18-year-old female protester was also killed on Friday in clashes in Alexandria.

Egypt has been gripped by political turmoil since the 2011 uprising, and by violent unrest since his successor Morsi was ousted.

Morsi's successor Sisi has been regularly accused by activists and rights groups of installing a regime that is more repressive than Mubarak's.

His supporters deny the allegations, pointing to his popularity among a large section of Egypt's population weary of four years of turmoil and economic crisis.

Ibrahim also said that Mubarak's sons Alaa and Gamal have been released from jail pending a retrial in a corruption case, four years after their arrest following the uprising.