Egypt: Police fire tear gas to drive out Morsi supporters from Tahrir square

CAIRO – Police have used heavy tear gas to clear hundreds of supporters of Egypt’s ousted Islamist president from Cairo’s famed Tahrir square shortly after they entered and took over the plaza.

The development, late Sunday afternoon, was the first time in more than a year that Islamists entered the square in significant numbers. The location has been the near exclusive domain of liberal and secular protesters since shortly after Mohammed Morsi took office in June 2012.

The square was the birthplace of the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak. That uprising was led by liberal and secular youth groups.

Sunday’s Islamist protesters came from Cairo University, where they have been protesting the death of an engineering student at the hands of police.