Egyptians gather in Tahrir to protest president's decree

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A protester runs to throw a tear gas canister back to riot police during clashes in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Tuesday. President Mohammed Morsi's declaration last week of new powers for himself has sparked days of demonstrations. By The Associated PressCAIRO — Egyptian protesters and police clashed in Cairo on Tuesday just hours ahead of a planned massive rally by opponents of the country's Islamist president demanding he rescind decrees that granted him near-absolute powers.

Police fired tear gas and hundreds of protesters pelted them with rocks at a street between the U.S. Embassy and Tahrir Square, birthplace of the uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian regime nearly two years ago.

Follow @NBCNewsWorld The protesters have been staging a sit-in at the square since Friday night to demand President Mohammed Morsi revoke his decrees.


 

By midday, hundreds were starting to gather in Tahrir, chanting against Morsi's decrees and the Brotherhood. A new banner in the square proclaimed, "The Brotherhood stole the country."

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