Calm Returns to Cairo Following Deadly Clashes

Calm returned to Cairo on Saturday after Egypt’s military rulers imposed an overnight curfew following clashes Friday that left a soldier dead and about 300 people injured.

On Friday, troops clashed with protesters demanding an immediate end to military rule, just three weeks before Egypt’s landmark presidential election.

Soldiers fired tear gas and water cannons at thousands of demonstrators who massed near the Defense Ministry in Cairo’s Abbassiya district. More clashes erupted in the city late Friday.

Islamist protesters had been camping around the Defense Ministry for days. More than 300 people were arrested.

The violence took place two days after fighting in Cairo left at least 11 people dead and prompted the top two Islamist candidates for the presidency to suspend their campaigns.