Egypt police clash with protesters at President Mohamed Morsi's palace

EGYPTIAN police have fired water cannon at stone-throwing protesters outside the presidential palace.

APTOPIX Mideast Egypt

EGYPTIAN police fired water cannon at stone-throwing protesters outside the presidential palace on Monday as the opposition held rallies to mark the second anniversary of Hosni Mubarak's overthrow.

The clashes broke out after several hundred protesters marched to the palace, the site of increasingly frequent clashes, on a day of marches against Egypt's new Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi.

Opposition groups called for the protests to demand that Mr Morsi fulfill the goals of the revolution which brought him to power along with his long-banned Muslim Brotherhood movement.

Among their key demands are a new unity government, amendments to a controversial Islamist-drafted constitution and the sacking of Egypt's prosecutor general.

Activists are also furious that no one has been held accountable for the deaths of dozens of protesters in past months in clashes with police.

"Down with Brotherhood rule," the protesters chanted as they made their way to downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square, the symbolic heart of protests that toppled Mubarak. Other marches converged on the palace.

Earlier, protesters briefly blocked a major bridge as well as trains in a central Cairo metro station, scuffling with passengers and metro police, witnesses and state media reported.

Two years ago, Egyptians poured onto the streets to celebrate after an aide to Mubarak announced the veteran president's resignation, buoyant that democratic change was within reach.

The 84-year-old's spectacular fall from grace on February 11, 2011 after an 18-day popular revolt sent shock waves across the Middle East and beyond.

But two years later, many are angry the main goals of freedom and social justice have not been achieved and that Egypt is polarised between Mr Morsi's mainly Islamist supporters and a broad opposition.

Egypt has witnessed deadly violence, insecurity and price hikes, fuelling the political turmoil gripping the country.