10 injured as gunmen fire at protesters ahead of rival rallies

On the day which many people believe will be decisive in the current political crisis in Egypt, at least 10 protesters were injured in an armed attack at Tahrir Square, where an open-ended sit-in has been staged since November 23. Unknown attackers fired birdshots at protesters in the square.

Nine people suffered injuries to their arms and legs, while one protester suffered a head injury, a Health Ministry official said.

The attack caused a wave of chaos in the square, with protesters chanting "the people want the fall of the regime" in response, before calm eventually returned.

Security across the capital was tightened and police deployed anti-riot vehicles in central Cairo after the firing ahead of a December 15 referendum on a new Islamist constitution.

Mursi today amended a law so that voters cannot cast their ballots outside their electoral districts, as they had in the past. Being able to vote anywhere had been a convenience, a presidential statement said, but it creates a burden on electoral officials.

The purpose of limiting voting to one's own district avoids "concerns about the fairness of the electoral process," the statement said.

Earlier, the government granted the military the power to make arrests during the electoral period, a power previously limited to police.

The move is designed to secure the voting process and will be rolled back once the election results are published, presidential spokesman Yasser Ali said.

The present political turmoil began after President Mursi granted himself absolute powers through the November 22 decree that had put his decisions beyond judicial review, a move which gained him titles like "dictator" and "Pharaoh". MORE