The students gathered on Tuesday in large crowds in universities across the country to condemn the army and renew their demand for the reinstatement of the country’s first democratically-elected president.

On Monday, police clashed with pro-Morsi students who had gathered outside the al-Azhar University in the capital, Cairo.

The fresh wave of rallies comes ahead of Morsi’s trial next week. Morsi and a number of Muslim Brotherhood leaders are being tried on charges of inciting violence in deadly clashes that erupted near the presidential palace in late 2012.

Supporters of Morsi accuse the army of removing the first democratically-elected president of the country during a coup. The army says it acted on behalf of millions of people who protested Morsi’s actions during his one-year presidency.

On Monday, the Muslim Brotherhood-led Anti-Coup Alliance issued a statement saying the ousted president did not recognize the trial and thus no lawyers would be defending him.

The alliance said a team of Egyptian lawyers would be attending the trial scheduled for November 4, but only "to observe proceedings, not to defend him."

The group also called on Brotherhood supporters to hold massive demonstrations on the day of trial.

Egypt plunged into violence after July 3, when the army removed Morsi from office, suspended the constitution, and dissolved the parliament. It also appointed the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Adly Mahmoud Mansour, as interim president.

About 1,000 people were killed in a week of violence between Morsi's supporters and security forces after police dispersed their protest camps in a deadly operation on August 14.

The massacre sparked international condemnation and prompted world bodies to call for an independent investigation into the violence.

SHI/SHI