Clashes between hundreds of supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi and opponents of the deposed Islamist leader in Tahrir square on Tuesday were quickly subdued.

Shop owners, street vendors and onlookers confronted pro-Morsi protesters and were able to drive them out of the area before security forces came onto the scene, according to witnesses speaking to Ahram Online.

The clashes subsided shortly after they erupted. Al-Ahram's Arabic news website reported that police arrested several protesters in the aftermath.

The official Facebook page of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, from which Morsi hails, earlier announced a protest by the "youth against the coup" at Talaat Harb square in downtown Cairo, minutes away from Tahrir Square.

The clashes mark the first time pro-Morsi protesters have made it to Tahrir Square – the site of the 2011 uprising that ousted long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak – since Morsi's removal from power on 3 July.

Egyptian security forces have closed off the square on days when large pro-Morsi demos are planned in attempts to prevent sit-ins from starting there.

Security forces violently dispersed the main pro-Morsi sit-in at Rabaa El-Adawiya square in August, resulting in the death of hundreds and injuring thousands.

The protest was planned at 6pm and less than an hour after it started clashes broke out between protesters and bystanders.