Egyptian state television reports that the Abbasseya area of Cairo was calm Saturday morning following violent clashes on Friday as anti-military protesters were violently dispersed from the area surrounding the Defense Ministry. State TV broadcasted images of traffic flowing smoothly through Abbasseya Square.
State-owned MENA news service reported that military forces controlled entry and exit points around Abbasseya Square on Saturday morning, adding that some military generals toured the square to monitor the situation.
While military forces were deployed around the square, Cairo sanitation workers cleaned streets of the remnants of battles that erupted Friday, leaving one soldier dead and hundreds of people wounded less than three weeks before the presidential election.
On Friday evening, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces imposed a curfew in Abbasseya Square and the streets leading to it, which was in place from 11 pm Friday night to 7 am on Saturday morning.
Eyewitnesses reported a heavy security presence in the Ghamra area, intended to block attempts to reach Abbasseya Square and the Defense Ministry.
