Dozens wounded in protests near U.S. embassy in Cairo

Dozens of people were wounded after two groups of protestors clashed near the U.S. embassy in downtown Cairo on Friday, Egypt's official news agency MENA reported.

The clash occurred as one group of protesters called for the expulsion of the U.S. ambassador to Egypt, while the other group were supporters of Egypt's military rulers, MENA said. The two groups threw rocks at each other, Xinhua reported.

A health ministry official told Xinhua via phone that the casualties were minor, without giving further details.

The lifting of a travel ban on 43 Egyptian and foreign employees of four U.S. and one German nongovernmental organizations, who were accused of receiving funds illegally and operating without official licenses, has sparked an outcry among Egyptian lawmakers and judges.

MENA reported that 15 of the defendants, including eight Americans, three Serbians, two Germans, one Norwegian and one Palestinian, flew out of Cairo on a U.S. plane on March 1, after each of them paid a bail of 200,000 Egyptian pounds (about 33,000 U.S. dollars).

An Egyptian court started the trial of the 43 NGO workers on Feb. 26, but three judges who were dealing with the trial pulled out of the case on Feb. 28, leading the case to be transferred to another court.

The trial resumed on Thursday, with 14 Egyptians and one American, Robert Becker, who worked for the U.S. National Democratic Institute, appearing in court.

The court announced to postpone the trial to April 10 after Thursday's session.