A number of pro-military council protests took place across the country Friday.

The Voice of the Silent Majority held rallies in Cairo, Alexandria, Mansoura, Sharqiya and Ismailia under the slogan 'We are all the Egyptian army'.

The group is run by supporters of Hosni Mubarak and is known for its anti-revolution stance.

Hundreds of SCAF supporters gathered in Hadayeq Al-Qubba Square near Abbasiya and chanted "The army, the police and the people are one hand."

A protest organised by the little-known Rise Up Egyptians group took place in Nahdet Misr Square, opposite Giza Zoo near the former Israeli embassy, in support of the SCAF.

The military council has recently undergone a fresh round of angered criticism from activists and rights groups after military police clashed with protesters in Abbasiya Square near the defence ministry last week and a week-long anti-military sit-in was forcibly dispersed, leaving at least two dead, hundreds injured and over 300 people arrested.

The military council has stated that one of the dead was a soldier who had been shot in the stomach.

Supporters of the military council have blamed the Abbasiya violence on protesters, accusing them of instigating chaos and attacking military police.