Eqypt's political and civilian crisis continues with the recent student protest on Sunday at Cairo's al-Azhar university. Students demanding ousted President Morsi's return began chanting 'down with military rule' before being tear gassed by the security forces.
According to the Interior Ministry, security forces have arrested around 55 students, Aljazeera reports.
A group of students, mostly from the University, started their protest with an on-campus march.
Ibrahim el-Houdhoud, deputy head of the university, told RT that demonstrators hurled stones at the administrator's offices, smashing windows and breaking doors. He told students to leave campus to avoid clashing with security forces.
But protesters marched outside the campus, blocked a main road and started throwing stones at officers positioned outside the gates.
Apart from the growing dissent against the military-backed leadership, protesters are also demanding the release of political detainees.
"We want the return of legitimate rule to Egypt, we want the return of President Morsi," one of the students told RT. "We are unarmed students. We just approached them and said 'you are our police' and then they attacked us."
The Interior Ministry claimed that police fired tear gas and birdshots to disperse around 3,000 students, who blocked roads around the Al-Azhar campus, RT reports.
The student protest has been staged a week before ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi is due to face trial next Monday on charges of inciting murder. His supporters have called for mass protests on that day, a possible indication of more violence in the country.
Sunday's clashes mark the second day of continuous turmoil at the University. The University is considered to be a major center for Sunni Muslim education and a stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood.
"We will take measures to continue studies even with the continuation of the demonstrations," el-Houdhoud said.
