The protests have attracted so far only a few thousand. The army cordons off Cairo and Egypt's other major cities with security forces equipped with weapons and live ammunition.

Cairo (AsiaNews) - Only a few thousand people responded to the Muslim Brotherhood's latest call to protest against the army coup.

Set for this afternoon, demonstrations were preceded by a double murder in front of the presidential palace in Heliopolis, when gunmen in two cars opened fire on the building, killing an attendant and a police officer.

The incident further heightened tensions, adding to an already difficult situation characterised by threats by Islamist organisations against Christian communities.

In order to prevent more acts of violence against Christians like those that took place between 14 and 17 August, and the various assaults on police stations and public security buildings, the army and the police have deployed thousands of agents and soldiers in Cairo and the various other towns and cities of Upper Egypt.

Yesterday, the Interior Ministry warned protest organisers that police would be armed with live ammunition.

In Cairo, security forces blocked the areas around protest sites. In Mohandessin, security forces fired tear gas and shot in the air to prevent demonstrators from getting closer to Sphinx Square.

Outside the capital, protests were held in northern cities like Alexandria, Beheira, and Menoufiya, as well as Asyut, in Upper Egypt, and Gharbiya, in the Nile Delta.

In Bani Suef, the scene of several attacks against police stations and Christian churches, more than 5,000 soldiers and police agents were deployed along with 250 armoured vehicles.

• egypt
• crisis
• protests
• islamists