Clashes erupted between protesters and security forces at the Ettehadiya Presidential Palace in Heliopolis on Monday evening, following demonstrations commemorating the two-year anniversary of the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak. Protesters who marched on the palace earlier today hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at police officers, who responded with water cannons and teargas. Six armored personnel carriers were seen shooting a barrage of teargas into the crowd, and police officers began chasing protesters down side streets in the area. Eyewitnesses said masked protesters then set up a barricade and shot fireworks at the security forces, throwing teargas canisters back at them. When the clashes began, police officers initially used megaphones to entreat the demonstrators to remain peaceful. When protesters were seen dismantling the barbed-wire fences outside the palace's main gate, which was partially set ablaze, security forces began shooting water cannons and firing blank shots into the air, reported Egypt Independent. Dozens had marched from Nour Mosque in Abbasseya to the presidential palace earlier this evening. Demonstrators chanted slogans against President Mohamed Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood. Due to the low turnout, traffic was not disrupted. The palace has become the site of frequent clashes since violence broke out during demonstrations commemorating the second anniversary of the 25 January uprising last month. Two weeks ago, a video showing police officers stripping, beating and dragging a protester along the ground went viral. Several political and revolutionary forces had called for marches on Monday from Mostafa Mahmoud Square, Sayeda Zeinab, Shubra, the Fathi Mosque, the Raba'a al-Adaweya Mosque and Nour Mosque to demand the dismissal of Prime Minister Hesham Qandil's government, the amendment of the Constitution, accountability for the deaths of protesters and early presidential elections. Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
