Egyptian demonstrators confront with riot police during protests outside the defense ministry in Cairo's Abbassiya district on May 4, 2012. About 59 people were injured in clashes between troops and anti-military protesters. (Xinhua/Nasser Nouri)

Thousands of protestors clashed with military police on Friday before the Ministry of Defense in Abbasiya district in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, wounding 59 people from both sides, state-run Nile TV reported.

The clashes broke out when some protestors tried to penetrate the security barrier before the ministry and pelted the military police with stones, in return, the military police fired water canons on the demonstrators.

The Ministry of Health deployed several ambulances to the area to rescue the injuries.

Thousands of protestors, chanting slogans against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) marched after Friday prayer from central Cairo's Tahrir square to the Ministry of Defense, in response to Wednesday's bloody attack by unknown assailants on a sit-in outside the ministry, which left nine dead and others injured.

Demonstrations were also launched in some other governorates, such as Alexandria, Gharbiya, Suez, Ismailia, and Aswan, protesting the same incident.

Egypt's ruling military held a press conference Thursday and warned people against protesting in front of military facilities, asking people instead to stay in Tahrir Suare.