Students clash with police forces at Ministry of Defense

Students allegedly affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood clashed with security forces near the Ministry of Defense in Heliopolis on Thursday afternoon, reported the privately owned daily Al-Masry Al-Youm.

The students, from Ain Shams University and Al-Azhar University, blocked Khalifa al-Mamoun Street, chanted slogans against the Armed Forces and Interior Ministry and held up posters depicting deposed President Mohamed Morsi.

Police forces fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators as they neared the ministry, suffocating several students, AMAY said.

The demonstrators retaliated by throwing stones, and security forces responded by firing water cannons. Police and military reinforcements then arrived at the scene and erected metal barricades and barbed wire to prevent the students from approaching the ministry.

The students reportedly assembled a field hospital in the garden across from the ministry to treat individuals suffering from the effects of the tear gas.

Also on Thursday, five Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated students, including one Jordanian citizen, were reportedly arrested during clashes in front of the October 6 University, according to a Giza Security Directorate source.

The source claimed students battled with police forces for two hours, during which neighborhood stores were forced to close and a traffic booth was destroyed.