Egypt's Health Ministry announced that at least 100 people have been wounded in some of the country's worst post-Mubarak violence. The clashes started after supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood tore down a podium belonging to a group that was chanting slogans against President Mohammed Morsi. More than 2,000 demonstrators were in the square and nearby streets.

Activists from both sides had converged to protest a court ruling acquitting Mubarak-era officials accused of ordering a camel charge against demonstrators last year, blaming a weak case made against them by Prosecutor General Abdel Maguid Mahmoud. The protesters found no further common ground, though, as Morsi supporters and opponents threw stones and bottles at each other.

In addition to opposing the court ruling, Morsi's opponents, a coalition of liberal and secular groups, had previously called their own rally to denounce Islamist control over a body drafting Egypt's new constitution. They also bemoaned the president's performance. Morsi has failed to deliver on his promises for his first 100 days such as cleaning up cities and getting traffic moving in Egypt's congested streets. Demonstrators also gathered in Egypt's second city, Alexandria, where Morsi went to a mosque to perform Friday prayers before giving a speech.

An unpopular choice

Morsi barely scraped through to win an election in June that presented voters with an unpopular choice between an Islamist and Mubarak's last premier. Morsi's opponents now also include influential judges, who became infuriated when the president tried sacking Mahmoud on Thursday, after the acquittals of 24 former regime figures accused of organizing attacks on protesters. Mahmoud refused to take Morsi's offer of a Vatican ambassadorship.

Judges described Morsi's decree as an attack on independence. After his election, the president also tried to reverse a court order that dissolved the Islamist-dominated parliament, sparking a backlash from the judiciary.

Wednesday's verdicts join a growing number of inquiries into protester deaths in which defendants were found not guilty because of a lack of evidence. Some 850 people were killed during 18 days of protests that resulted in the ousting of Mubarak on February 11, 2011. Mubarak is currently serving a life sentence on charges of complicity in the deaths.

mkg/msh (Reuters, AFP)