Several thousands join Cairo protests

Loyalists of deposed president Mohamed Morsi had called for 28 marches throughout Cairo on Friday, though many appeared sparsely attended.

Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo

Several thousands have joined marches in Cairo to protest the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi. (AAP)

Several thousand demonstrators have joined at least three marches in different parts of the Egyptian capital to protest the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Loyalists of the deposed president had called for 28 marches throughout the city on Friday, though many appeared sparsely attended.

The rallies are being seen as a test for Morsi loyalists and the Muslim Brotherhood organisation from which he hails.

At one, in Cairo's southern Maadi district, several thousand protesters marched from the Al-Rayan mosque to Arab Square.

They chanted "coup, coup" and "down with military rule".

"We will never lose faith in our cause. We will fight until our last drop of blood," said protester Tareq Hossam.

Protester Khaled Abdel Hamid, an accountant, said he had lost 11 friends when security forces cleared a pro-Morsi camp in Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya square on August 14.

Hundreds of people were killed during the dispersal and in clashes that followed, in Egypt's bloodiest day in decades.

"We will protest until we remove the coup and restore legitimacy," Abdel Hamid said.

In Mohandesseen district, around 2000 people gathered, chanting "the interior ministry are thugs".

But the march stopped short of an army cordon set up close to a nearby square, an AFP correspondent said.

In the past few days, Egyptian authorities have arrested hundreds of members of the group, including its supreme guide.

Brotherhood members have gone into hiding, and some say they are no longer receiving directives and have stopped communicating by phone for fear of arrest.

Morsi was ousted on July 3 by the military, after massive protests against his rule.

His supporters set up two protests camps in Cairo which were forcibly dispersed on August 14.

Nearly 1000 people were killed during the dispersal and in subsequent clashes.


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Source: AAP



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