On Friday, police fired tear gas to disperse protesters who had tried to cross barbed-wire barriers outside the presidential palace in Cairo, state TV reported. Protesters' tents were also dismantled.
Earlier, some protesters erected checkpoints at the entrances to Tahrir Square to verify the identities of people passing through. Others set up an exhibition of photographs of those killed at various protests over the past two years.The roads leading from Tahrir Square to several nearby government buildings and foreign embassies have been blocked by concrete walls since last November.Demonstrators tried to dismantle one of them on Thursday night, but a new wall was built to block entry to the Cabinet headquarters.
The unrest continued overnight. On Friday, Nile TV reported worsening clashes outside the interior ministry near Tahrir Square.The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Tahrir Square says there are now large numbers of protesters there, but that the violence is restricted to a small corner of it, where teenagers are throwing stones at the parliament building.
At least 25 people have been injured in clashes in Cairo since Thursday.Smaller rallies are taking place in other cities, including Alexandria, Ismailia, Suez and Port Said.In Ismailia, witnesses said youths had broken into and ransacked the offices of the Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, before setting fire to it.
Our correspondent in Cairo said that the Muslim Brotherhood had sent out messages discouraging its members from participating in the protests, suggesting that they instead perform acts of civic responsibility, such as planting trees."And these things have been happening," said Mike Hanna. He added that despite protests, there were also crowds celebrating the second anniversary of the revolution.
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