Egypt Police Fire Tear Gas as Fighting Erupts in Cairo
06 Oct 201318:10 PM
Egypt Police Fire Tear Gas as Fighting Erupts in Cairo
Police fired tear gas and shots in the air Sunday to disperse supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi as they tried to reach Cairo's Tahrir Square, where anti-Morsi protesters were rallying.

Police fired tear gas and birdshot in Cairo's Tahrir Street, sending demonstrators running towards the Dokki neighbourhood.

Uniformed and plainclothed police chased demonstrators and beat them up before taking them away in handcuffs as residents cheered, Agence France Presse reported.

In nearby Garden City, police fired tear gas and chased protesters along the Nile Corniche, prompting some demonstrators to jump in the water.

Police boats were sent to get them out, witnesses told AFP.

Skirmishes were also reported in the Manial and Shubra al-Kheima neighbourhoods, as well as outside of Cairo.

The scuffles broke out as thousands of people took to the main squares of Egypt in a show of support for the army that ousted Morsi in July.

The rallies come on the anniversary of the 1973 October War, known in Israel as the Yom Kippur War.

The war, remembered proudly by the Egyptian army because it caught Israel by surprise, eventually led to the recovery of the Sinai Peninsula in a 1979 peace treaty.