CAIRO, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Political unrest was running high in Egypt Saturday over the temporary military government's re-imposition of martial law, protesters in Cairo said.
Some 1,500 chanting demonstrators gathered in Tahrir Square Friday night, where the protests that ousted President Hosni Mubarak began in January, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.
The interim Supreme Council of the Armed Forces government that promised to abolish the so-called Emergency Law by the end of September announced Wednesday it was reinstated following an attack on the Israeli Embassy Sept. 9.
Protesters called it a step backward in the process of attaining a democracy, The Washington Post reported.
In addition to the law's re-imposition, the military expanded its prosecutorial scope Wednesday to include offenses including "damaging state property, disrupting people's work, blocking roads through demonstrations, and spreading false news and information," the Middle East News Agency said.
A government official who asked not to be identified told the Post the unrest that led to the embassy attack had to be reined in.
"The emergency law is being reinforced in order to protect public property and the streets and to stop the people who instigate violence," he said. "It will not target views or freedom of expression or criticism."
National elections are scheduled in Egypt in November.
