CAIRO — At least 18 people were killed in political violence on Sunday, the fourth anniversary of the Arab Spring uprising, a reminder of the ruthless crackdown the military-backed government has used to silence any echoes of that revolt.
Security officials said three of those killed were militants trying to plant bombs that accidentally exploded in two Nile Delta towns, and three others were police conscripts. At least 12 others were civilians killed by security forces.
As many as 10 civilians were killed in clashes in the Matariya district, a frequent flash point on the northern edge of Cairo, and dozens of civilians were reportedly injured in clashes at scattered protests around the country.
After nearly 18 months of recurring police shootings at street protests since the military takeover in 2013, it was the deaths of two others killed over the weekend that most captured Egypt’s attention.
Sondos Reda Abu Bakr, a 17-year-old high school student, was killed Friday by police officers firing birdshot at a demonstration in Alexandria in support of ousted President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. And Shaimaa al-Sabbagh, 32, a left-leaning poet and activist, was killed in Cairo. She was a member of a socialist political party that had supported President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and the military takeover he led in 2013.
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“There were many calls for protests,” he said. “But the streets are full of the government, with informants everywhere, and any protests can expect to be immediately attacked by the police, any groups that tries to do anything is faced with very violent confrontation without warning.”
So the mourners canceled the protests, Mr. Abdelnaem said. “It was decided that there was no need to lose more people today.”
Merna Thomas contributed reporting from Alexandria, Egypt.
A version of this article appears in print on January 26, 2015, on page A8 of the New York edition with the headline: Two Deaths Stand Out In Violence In Egypt . Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe
