At least 51 people were killed in violence in Egypt as anti-coup protesters took to the streets on the 40th anniversary of an Egyptian attack on Israeli forces.

Egypt's Health Ministry announced the number of fatalities and also said that 268 people had been injured in clashes across the country.

The Interior Ministry announced as night fell that 408 anti-military rule protesters were arrested throughout the day.

Police fired tear gas and shots into the air to disperse anti-coup crowds who were trying to make their way to Tahrir Square, where thousands of pro-military Egyptians were gathered to mark the anniversary of the assault on Israeli forces in the Sinai Peninsula during the 1973 war.

In Delga, south of Cairo, medical sources told Reuters news agency that police shot live rounds into a crowd of stone-throwing protesters, killing one man.

kirmishes were reported around Cairo, including in Garden City and the Nile Corniche, as security forces prevented anti-coup marchers from getting within less than one kilometer of Tahrir Square.

Reporting from an Anti-Coup Alliance march heading to Tahrir Square, our special correspondent, who cannot be named for security reasons, said: "As we approached, the numbers on the march grew considerably; I would say they are up to about 4,000 now.

"There is a great deal of determination among the marchers to reach the square, despite the fear of the violence. They think they have as much right to be in the square as the pro-military groups."

Another Al Jazeera correspondent reported three layers of security around Tahrir Square.

Muslim Brotherhood supporters have been staging protests against the military's move to topple their leader, Mohamed Morsi, from the presidency on July 3.

The Anti-Coup Alliance, a collection of bodies with different political views who are opposed to military rule in Egypt, had called for demonstrations to start from various points in Cairo and converge on Tahrir Square in the afternoon.
The army gave warning that protests would not be tolerated in response to the calls.

Hazem el-Beblawi, Egypt's prime minister, said in a statement to the nation that "evil elements" still posed a danger but had lost much of their power, a reference to the Brotherhood and its supporters.

Authorities have cracked down hard on the Islamists, who have won every election after President Hosni Mubarak's fall in February 2011 but lost some support during Morsi's rule.

Many Egyptians accused him of trying to acquire sweeping powers and mismanaging the economy, allegations he denied.

PHOTO CAPTION

Security forces and Islamist protesters clashed around the country Sunday, leaving 51 killed, as a national holiday celebrating the military turned to mayhem.

Aljazeera