The Egyptian army deployed troops and armoured vehicles in the coastal city of Suez Saturday after deadly clashes between police and anti-government protesters, dpa quoted state media as reporting.
The deployment came after police lost control of the situation in the city, it quoted chief of Suez security Major General Adel Refat as saying.
"The army deployment came after security forces were attacked by firearms during the clashes," he said.
Nine people including a policeman were killed in the city that lies about 100 kilometres east of Cairo, medical sources said.
The clashes were the fiercest in a wave of violence that erupted across Egypt Friday, marking the second anniversary of a revolt that toppled former president Hosny Mubarak.
The Health Ministry said the violence claimed six lives in Suez and one more in the coastal city of Ismailia.
At least 476 people were injured across the country, it said.
Sporadic clashes occurred outside the state TV building near Cairo's Tahrir Square, where thousands of President Mohammed Morsi's opponents gathered to decry his policies and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Angry protesters torched the Brotherhood's offices and attacked governmental buildings in several areas of the nation.
Morsi appealed for calm and vowed that authorities would bring lawbreakers to justice.
"I call on all citizens to adhere to the noble principles of the Egyptian revolution in expressing opinion freely and peacefully," he said on his official Facebook page.
He offered condolences to families of the victims of what he termed "abominable violence."
Political opponent Mohammed ElBaradei criticized Morsi and his Islamist-backed government over the handling of the crisis.
"What we have seen so far from the president and his government, in dealing with the tragedy in which we are living, is an example of sheer irresponsibility," ElBaradei said.
The violence came as a court was scheduled Saturday to issue a ruling on Egypt's worst soccer tragedy.
Militant soccer fans this week warned of "chaos" if no justice is served for 74 people killed in February rioting following a match in the coastal Port Said.
The mostly secular opposition accuses Morsi, Egypt's first democratically president, of failing to restore street security and revitalize an ailing economy.
...