Egypt army secures museum with Pharaonic treasures

Army units secured the Egyptian Museum in central Cairo against possible looting on Friday night, protecting a building with spectacular Pharaonic treasures such as the death mask of the boy king Tutankhamun, state TV said.

The news follows a day of violent anti-government protests in Cairo and other cities. Some of the most violent scenes in four days of protests have been in squares and streets close to the museum building.

While army soldiers shook hands with protesters on one street in downtown Cairo on Friday, elsewhere security forces lashed out at the crowd with tears in their eyes.