At least one person has been killed as thousands of protesters took to the streets in the Egyptian capital to show support for the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted president Mohamed Morsi, local media reported on Saturday.

The latest wave of national protests in Cairo began on Wednesday, the third anniversary of the referendum on constitutional amendments.

Pro-Muslim Brotherhood protesters raised the four-fingered hand gesture and chanted slogans expressing opposition to the military-backed government in rallies in the Haram district south of Cairo and in El Mohandiseen.

Friday is the third day in an 11-day campaign launched by the National Alliance for the Support of Legitimacy, a coalition of anti-coup groups with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood movement.

The group demands justice for the protesters killed last year by security forces after ousting Mohamed Morsi, and the return to what the group calls constitutional legitimacy.

They also demand the reactivation of the democratic process which the coalition believes to have been aborted by the military since the last year.

Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood have vowed to reverse government's decision to declare the movement a terrorist group, and called for the new wave of protests to continue until the end of March or until their demands are met.

There have been protests this week in Maadi, south of Cairo and in Alexandria on Wednesday, but also in the far flung cities of Kafr Al Sheikh in the north and Asuit in the south.

The government has stepped up its security measures and several protesters were killed or wounded during the latest crackdown on Wednesday and Thursday.

NTJ/SHI