At least one person has been killed and dozens injured in clashes between police and residents of a Nile island in Cairo, when security forces attempted to demolish illegal buildings, the ministry of Interior said in a statement, Reuters reported.
The violence erupted when police arrived at al-Warraq island on Sunday morning to eradicate encroachments on state-owned land, the statement said.
"The forces were surprised by demonstrations by some of the trespassers, who had assaulted the forces by firing birdshots and throwing stones ... Which pushed the forces to fire teargas to disperse the protesters and to control the situation," the statement added.
At least 37 policemen and 19 residents were injured in the clashes, the statement said. Security forces withdrew from the scene to minimize losses, a police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, told Reuters.
"The mission failed from A-Z ... there hasn't been proper coordination," he said.