Students supporting ousted president Mohamed Morsi broke the locks of Cairo University's main gates on Thursday in an attempt to protest outside the campus, Al-Ahram's Arabic news website reported.

The students protested outside the university on the road leading to Giza, waving the four-fingered Rabaa sign, the symbol of a pro-Morsi protest camp that was forcefully disbanded by security forces last August, leaving hundreds dead.

Security forces were present outside of the university's main gates on Thursday.

Cairo University, scene of ongoing protests against Egypt's interim authorities as well as bomb blasts targeting security personnel, has quieted down in recent weeks.

Last week, head of Cairo University Gaber Nassar banned 173 students from taking their final exams due to alleged links to violent clashes at the university.

Morsi's ouster in July of last year, along with the deadly dispersal at Rabaa Al-Adeweya, prompted the Islamist president's supporters – including students – to protest against what they allege is a coup against an elected president.

The student protests have often turned violent. Pro-Morsi students occasionally vandalised university buildings and torched police vehicles. Security forces have dispersed the demonstrations with tear gas and birdshot. Several students were killed in those confrontations.

Meanwhile, protests broke out last week at two private universities in Cairo, American University and British University, against jail sentences handed out to fellow students.

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/100802.aspx