CAIRO, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Two protesters were killed as supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood clashed with police in Cairo and in cities across Egypt, medical and security sources said, in a show of defiance despite a state crackdown on the Islamist movement.
Islamists opposed to the army's overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi of the Brotherhood have been holding daily demonstrations in Cairo and in other cities even since the army-backed government declared the Brotherhood a terrorist group last month, a move that upped the penalties for dissent.
One demonstrator was shot dead by police in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia after a march set off from a mosque after midday prayers, medical sources said.
In the rural province of Fayoum, southwest of Cairo, a protester died from a bullet wound to the head, local Health Ministry official Medhat Shukri told Reuters.
The violence took place less than two weeks before a vote on a new constitution, a milestone in the road map which the army-backed authorities say will pave the way for a return to democratic rule by next summer. (Reporting by Yusri Mohamed and Mohamed Abdalla,; Writing by Maggie Fick, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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