CAIRO, Jan 3 (Aswat masriya) - Army and police forces sealed off Tahrir, Rabaa, and Nahda squares on Friday morning in anticipation of demonstrations which the National Coalition for Supporting Legitimacy called for.

The alliance has called for demonstrations on Friday to voice support for ousted President Mohamed Mursi before his trial on 8 January and to protest against the continuous escalation against supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Army tanks were deployed along Tahrir Square entrances and army forces sealed the square to traffic, an Egyptian Radio and Television Union website reported.

Barbed wire was also placed at the entrances, the union’s Akhbar Masr website said.

In Giza, the army closed Nahda Square with metal barriers and prevented cars from passing through the square and the streets around it.

Mursi’s supporters have been demonstrating continuously to protest against what they called a coup against legitimacy.

The former president was deposed last July after mass protests against his ruling.