28 Nov 2012

Anti-Mursi protests escalate in Egypt

Protests against Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi spread beyond Cairo in the early hours of Wednesday morning leaving at least 100 people injured.

Pro- and anti-Muslim Brotherhood protesters clashed in the Nile Delta city of Mahalla.

Meanwhile in the capital, Egyptians also gathered at Tahrir Square, the focus of the 2011 overthrow of former President Hosni Mubarak, to protest at the constitutional reforms brought in by Mursi which grant him a raft of unchecked powers.

As the crowds increased in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, several hundred young Egyptians clashed with police, throwing stones and having tear gas fired at them in response.

The demonstrators had bedded in for another day of protest, steeling themselves for further action in a bid to get President Mohamed Mursi to rescind his move to take sweeping new powers.

Tens of protesters took to their tents in the square while others kept the chanting going during the early hours of Wednesday morning. There were clashes between protesters and police in side streets during the night.