Egyptian police clashed today with Islamists protesting against a decision by ex-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to stand for president, state media and security officials said.
Supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi took to the streets in Cairo, Alexandria and other Egyptian cities to vent their anger at Sisi who overthrew the Islamist leader nine months ago.
Four people were wounded in clashes in the northern Damietta province, health ministry official Khaled al-Khatib told AFP.
In Cairo's eastern neighbourhood of Madinat Nasr, students from Al-Azhar Islamic university hurled Molotov cocktails and stones at riot police who fired tear gas to disperse them, security officials said.
Underlining Egypt's deep polarisation, clashes also erupted between Morsi supporters and opponents of the Islamist leader in the northern Cairo districts of Ein Shams and Matareya, the officials said.
Demonstrators in the southern Cairo working class district of Helwan and in Fayum province, southwest of the capital, fired birdshot and police responded with tear gas, state news agency MENA said.
Police also fired tear gas at demonstrators in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, Egypt's second city, MENA said.
Ten Morsi supporters were arrested in clashes with security forces in the northern Damietta province, and 28 were arrested in the southern Minya province for carrying leaflets hostile to the military and the police, the security officials said.
Supporters of the widely-popular presidential hopeful, who toppled Morsi after massive street protests against his turbulent one-year rule, were also out on the street to celebrate his candidacy.
Carrying Egyptian flags and portraits of the field marshal, dozens took to the streets in Alexandria while scores gathered in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square, symbol of the 2011 uprising that toppled veteran president Hosni Mubarak.
