Egypt army says 179 held over deadly clashes

Egypt's military prosecution on Saturday ordered 179 people be detained over deadly clashes between troops and anti-military protesters in Cairo, a military source told AFP.

Following the arrest of 320 people after Friday's clashes outside the defence ministry in Cairo, the prosecution "has decided to hold 179 people, including 13 women, for 15 days pending investigation," the source said.

After five hours of questioning overnight, the detainees were accused of assaulting army officers and soldiers, assembling in a military zone, and preventing members of the armed forces of carrying out their work, the source said. They all denied the charges.

Friday saw fierce clashes between anti-military protesters and troops in the Abbassiya neighbourhood near the defence ministry, that left two people dead, including a soldier, and nearly 300 injured.

The clashes erupted just three weeks ahead of Egypt's first presidential elections since a popular uprising ousted president Hosni Mubarak last year.