Tahrir Square protestors resisted military efforts to clear them Photo: Jonathan Rashad

Thousands of protestors remain in Tahrir Square, however, despite a military effort to clear those gathered, the BBC reports. 

A reported 500,000 protestors took to Tahrir Square on Friday to protest the interim military government. Groups like the Muslim Brotherhood want the ruling military council, led by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, to accelerate the transition of power to civilian rule. The clashes come less than a week before the first national elections since the end of Mubarak's 30-year rule, and one day after heavy clashes with protestors left two dead. The Health Ministry confirmed those killed Sunday died of asphyxiation. 

The protests have spread to at least seven different cities, including Alexandria and Suez, the New York Times reports. But the protests in Tahrir Square invite comparisons to the protests of January 25 and the advent of the Arab Spring.

According to Time:

     Demonstrators in Tahrir now say they are calling for a timetable by which the military will pledge a handover of power to a civilian government. But some say the protest is broader than that; a continuation of the winter revolution, which young activists increasingly say failed to topple little more than Mubarak. "The revolution is not over. The military council is the same as Mubarak," said Abdu Kassem, a 25-year-old protester wearing a tag that read "The continuous revolution."

Sunday's violence came the same day it was reported Egypt will seek IMF financing after the military rulers turned down a finance package this summer, citing a reluctance to acquire debt, Reuters reports. 

Despite the chaos, Egypt's military rulers said they plan to move forward with parliamentary elections which are scheduled to begin Monday but will not be completed until March. Tantawi and his council have said they will not step down until a government is in place.