Unidentified thugs clashed on Saturday evening with supporters of former presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abou Ismail, who have been camping in the Abasseya area of Cairo, near the Ministry of Defense, Thugs used Molotov cocktails to attack the protesters who threw rocks back at them. Buckshots have also been reported by witnesses attempting to rescue the injured. Several injuries have been reported by witnesses, while a field hospital was already set up. Abou Ismail's supporters formed human shields to stop the clashes, while chanting "Allahu Akbar" (God is great). Abou Ismail's supporters have staged a sit-in near the Ministry of Defense since Friday night to protest the exclusion of the Salafi preacher from the presidential race. The sit-in also included other protesters who demanded a swift handover by the military to a civilian authority and a lift of the judicial immunity of the Presidential Elections Commission.
