Clashes between secularist and Islamist protesters in Cairo\'s Tahrir Square Clashes broke out between pro and anti-Muslim Brotherhood protesters in Cairo\'s Tahrir Square. Pro-Brotherhood supporters have attacked a stage built by secular groups and burnt a banner calling for the reformation of the Constituent Assembly, eye witnesses told Arabstoday.
There was stone-throwing in the nearby Mohammed Mahmoud Street around midday, the sources added.
Two major protests were scheduled to take place in the square after Friday prayers.
Liberal and leftists forces have called for a protest dubbed \"Friday of Accountability\" to mark the end of President Mohammed Morsi\'s first 100 days in office and to demand a reformed Constituent Assembly that represents all Egyptians. They are also calling for the implementation of a minimum wage ceiling and a reduction in the price of basic commodities.
The Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists forces have called for a simultaneous protest, also in Tahrir Square, to condemn the acquittal of 24 former regime militants who were allegedly involved in the \"Battle of the Camel\" during the January 25 Revolution.
The call to protest on 12 October 2012 was initially launched by liberal, leftist and nationalist parties after the end of President Morsi\'s first 100 days in office. The protest was supposed to include several marches from different starting points in Cairo and Giza, meeting in the afternoon in Tahrir Square. Its principal demand, according to a joint statement published on Tuesday, is a Constituent Assembly representing all Egyptians. It also stresses setting minimum and maximum wages and a reduction in the price of basic commodities.
These original protests were not welcomed or supported by the Muslim Brotherhood, whose members mocked and attacked their instigators, describing their intentions as an attempt to subvert the progress President Mohammed Morsi had been making against the will of the people who had elected him. But after the court ruling acquitting all 24 defendants in the \"Battle of the Camel\" trial, the Muslim Brotherhood called on its members across the country to rally against the verdict. The Freedom and Justice Party President Essam el-Erian also called on members of the party to join the protests. \"I call on all the young members of the Freedom and Justice Party to participate in the marches planned on Thursday to achieve justice and retribution,\" he said on Twitter.
The swift decision of the MB to hit the streets at the same time and in the same place as non-Islamist forces have been thought of as an attempt to sabotage an essentially ant-Morsi and anti-Freedom and Justice Party demonstration.
A few hours before the two protests began, President Morsi issued a decree dismissing Egypt\'s Attorney General Abdelmeguid Mahmoud from his office and appointed him
Egyptian ambassador to the Vatican. Mahmoud immediately refused the decree and announced he will keep his office as the president is not legally authorised to force him to resign.
Mahmoud is largely considered responsible for the acquitting verdicts which the former regime\'s figures have received, as many Egyptian lawyers and legal experts said the file sent from the prosecution authority to the court was \"deliberately\" lacking strong evidence.