Egyptian police fired tear gas at Islamist protesters near Cairo's Tahrir square Friday to prevent them from entering it, an AFP correspondent reported.

Police fired large volley of tear gas at several hundred Islamist who were chanting "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest), the correspondent reported.

He said police also fired live ammunition into the air to disperse the crowd.

Clashes broke out in Cairo and several other Egyptian cities on Friday, security sources and state media said.

In the capital, an Egyptian army vehicle fired live rounds in the direction of Muslim Brotherhood supporters, killing at least one protester, Reuters news agency reported quoting medical sources.

Troops sealed off Tahrir square with tanks and barbed wire and police boosted their presence at the site.

Egyptian authorities had warned the Brotherhood that new demonstration camps would not be tolerated.

Since the July 3 ouster of the Islamic president, the country's military-backed government has moved against the Brotherhood, banning the group, seizing its assets and arresting hundreds of its supporters.

NJF/NJF