There are reports of clashes between police and protesters in Egypt at a sit-in protest demanding an end to military rule. It was sparked by a rumor that one of the activists had been detained and allegedly beaten.

­A video circulating on the internet showed a young man, identified only as Ibrahim, being supported by a crowd, has face badly bruised and his eyes swollen and shut.

Hundreds of demonstrators, angry at the images torched cars and threw stones and firebombs at military police. The law enforcers responded by deploying water cannons from inside the gates and throwing stones from the roof of the parliament building.

One of the protesters told the Associated Press that security forces had burned protesters' tents and ended the nearly three-week-long sit-in.

Protesters say the clashes began late Thursday night and continued Friday morning. According to Al Arabiya news channel, police fired in the air shortly after dawn to try to disperse around 300 demonstrators.

(AFP Photo / Mohammed Hossam)

There are reports of injuries.

The protesters have been camped outside the cabinet’s offices since November 25.

They objected to the military’s appointment of a new prime minister, demanding that the ruling military elite fully transfer power to a civilian government.

The military, in charge since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February, has said it will step down once a president is elected by the end of June next year.

Egyptian protesters use makeshift shields to approach the Shura council building (AFP Photo / Mohammed Hossam)

(AFP Photo / Mohammed Abed)

(AFP Photo / Mohammed Abed)