CAIRO, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Egyptian protesters marching on Cairo's central Tahrir Square said the military regime must hand power over to civilian leadership as soon as possible.
Hundreds of protesters answered the call from political parties and movements to march on Tahrir Square, the staging ground for the country's revolution. They were calling on the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to transfer power to a civilian leadership, Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm reports.
"Tantawi is Mubarak," protesters chanted, comparing SCAF Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi to ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
SCAF is facing growing frustration over the pace of reforms. Some political groups in the country say they fear the military leadership is trying to consolidate its grip on power.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which coordinated its post-revolution political activity under the Freedom and Justice Party, said, in a statement published by Al-Masry Al-Youm, that SCAF was trying to handicap the country's democratic momentum.
"There are some people who fear the hijacking of the revolution, reducing its gains or procrastinating and delaying its steps through the [military council] and its continuation in power indefinitely," the statement read. "They warn of similar events that took place in Egypt in 1954 and led to the continuation of authoritarian rule for more than 50 years."
