Ahmed Naguib Mohamed Ali, 18, has been declared the third fatality in the ongoing clashes between police and demonstrators this week.
Al-Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence said Ali passed away on Monday after being shot in the head.
Activist Mona Seif said that the Red Crescent Hospital, where Ali was taken, received more than one case of upper-body gunshot injuries following clashes outside the US Embassy on Sunday, reported the privately-owned Youm7 newspaper. The Wafd party newspaper reported on Monday, however, that the Health Ministry was unaware of such cases or of the death of the activist.
News of Ali’s death comes on the heels of the funerals for 17-year-old April 6 Youth Movement member Gaber Salah and 15-year-old Muslim Brotherhood Youth member Islam Fathy. While Salah, known as Jika, died as a result of wounds sustained while demonstrating on Mohamed Mahmoud Street commemorating last year’s clashes, Fathy died after being hit by a rock while protesting in favor of President Mohamed Morsy’s recent constitutional declaration.
Salah was pronounced dead on Sunday, days after sustaining a birdshot wound to his head during clashes with security forces near the Interior Ministry. The fighting erupted on 19 November as activists commemorated clashes last year that left over 40 dead. Masses gathered in Tahrir Square on Monday for Salah’s funeral.
The city of Damanhour in the Nile Delta region also held a funeral for Fathy on Monday, which was attended by thousands.
Since the beginning of the clashes, the Interior Ministry has repeatedly denied that its forces are using live ammunition. Interior Minister Ahmed Gamal Eddin said that police officers near the ministry are equipped only with tear gas.
In an interview with state-run newspaper Al-Ahram, Gamal Eddin claimed that the protesters were shooting each other with birdshots, and such wounds were not inflicted by the police.
