Police fire teas gas amid Cairo scuffles

PanARMENIAN.Net - Egyptian police fired tear gas in central Cairo on Monday, July 15 after scuffles broke out between supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and locals in and around Ramses Street, eyewitnesses said, according to Reuters.

It was the first violent confrontation involving pro-Morsi protesters for a week.

One witness said the police fired tear gas at the Morsi supporters after they cut off access to Ramses Street, one of Cairo's main thoroughfares, and the October 6th Bridge across the Nile, angering drivers and passers-by and leading to scuffles.

Small-scale fights were continuing at around 9:35 p.m. (3:25 p.m. ET), although policemen were looking on without taking further action.

Last Monday, 53 Morsi supporters were killed when soldiers opened fire outside the Republican Guard compound in Cairo. Four soldiers also died. The army blamed the clash on the demonstrators, but Morsi's followers called it a "massacre".