Egypt protesters attack presidential palace

PanARMENIAN.Net - Egyptians marched and chanted against Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in cities across the country on Friday, February 7 and several hundred attacked the presidential palace with petrol bombs and rocks, Reuters said.

At least 126 people were hurt in unrest in various provinces, state media said, while two officers and three soldiers of the Republican Guard were wounded in clashes.

Protests erupted last month over what demonstrators saw as Mursi's attempts to monopolize power as well as wider political and economic grievances.

The main opposition alliance signed an agreement with the ruling Muslim Brotherhood last week rejecting violence and had not officially called for marches on Friday, although some of the alliance's younger members called for protests.

While the number of protesters has dwindled, distrust of Mursi and the Brotherhood and a sense of political and economic malaise have continued to bring people into the streets.

At least 59 people were killed in the demonstrations between January 25, second anniversary of the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak two years ago, and February 4.

A few hundred protesters gathered outside the presidential palace in Cairo as night fell, throwing stones and homemade bombs at the main gate. Police fired into the air, shot teargas and drove cars toward the crowd to scatter them.