CAIRO: Clashes erupted Sunday across much of Egypt between security forces and supporters of the ousted president, leaving 44 killed, as rival crowds of supporters of the military and backers of the Islamist Mohammad Morsi it deposed poured into streets around the country to mark a major holiday.

 

The capital, Cairo, saw multiple scenes of mayhem as street battles raged for hours in some neighborhoods, with Morsi supporters firing birdshot and throwing firebombs at police, who responded with gunshots and tear gas.

 

In some cases, pro-military crowds set upon supporters of the former president, with the two sides pelting each other with rocks. By late evening, several parts of the city resembled combat zones, with fires burning, black smoke rising and the crack of gunfire piercing the air, thick with tear gas. Streets were strewn with debris.

 

An Associated Press photographer saw nine bodies lying on the floor of a clinic in the Cairo district of Dokki, scene of some of the heaviest clashes. Most of the bodies had gunshot wounds to the head or chest.

 

The Health Ministry reported 40 people killed in Cairo and four others killed in other provinces, with more than 240 people injured. The Interior Ministry, which is in charge of the police, said 423 Morsi supporters were detained across the nation.

 

The clashes took place on the 40th anniversary of the start of the 1973 war with Israel, a holiday the military-backed government had wanted to use to pay tribute to the armed forces, whose chief ousted Morsi on July 3.

 

The clashes were the last chapter in the turmoil roiling the country since the deposing in February 2011 of longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak and are certain to set back efforts by the government to revive the economy, especially the vital tourism sector, and bring order to the streets of Cairo, where crime and lawlessness have been rife.

 

The scene of the fighting contrasted sharply with a carnival-like mood in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square, where thousands of supporters of the military waved Egyptian flags, blew whistles and touted posters of army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi. Adding to the festivities, a military band in green jackets and off-white pants played, and men spun in whirling dervish-style dances.

 

Earlier in the day, soldiers had barricaded entrances to central Tahrir Square with barbed wire and armored personnel vehicles. Metal detectors were installed at the entrances and demonstrators pouring into the square were searched by troops.

 

Late Sunday, Sisi and interim President Adly Mansour attended a fireworks extravaganza at a military-owned stadium in the eastern part of Cairo.

 

Sisi’s predecessor, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, was among those attending the ceremony, making his first public appearance since Morsi removed him and his chief of staff, Sami Anan, in August last year. Tantawi served Hosni Mubarak as defense minister for 20 years and took over the reins of the country when his mentor was ousted. Anan, who has presidential ambitions, was not present.

 

Thousands of Morsi backers meanwhile held marches around the city, shouting slogans against Sisi as some headed toward Tahrir in hopes of forcing their way into the sprawling plaza.

 

At central locations including a southern entrance to the square, police fired into the air and used tear gas to push back pro-Morsi marches as they approached. 

“The people have one demand: Remove Sisi and the president,” Islamist protesters chanted.

 

Islamists elsewhere in Egypt struck back, attacking police and torching churches and other Coptic Christian institutions.

 

Analysts said the Islamists’ call for protests was a high-risk attempt to strip the current regime of the army’s legacy and patriotic pride in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

 

“They will try to show that the present army is not the army of all Egyptians, but only of those who backed the coup,” Hassan Nafaa, political science professor at Cairo University, told AFP. “But this message will not go down well.”

 

The Anti-Coup Alliance group has repeatedly called for protests against Morsi’s overthrow.

 

But its ability to mobilize large numbers has waned as security forces have arrested some 2,000 Islamists, including Morsi himself and several Brotherhood leaders.