Egyptian security forces fire tear gas and birdshot to disperse protesters - witness

Anti-Mubarak protesters gesture after former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's verdict, in front of barbed wire, soldiers with armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and police vehicles as they close one of the entrances which lead to Tahrir square in downtown Cairo November 29, 2014. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces fired tear gas and birdshot and used water hoses to disperse protesters in downtown Cairo who had gathered to protest against a cout's dropping of a case against former President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday, a Reuters witness said. Around 1000 protesters were gathered near Tahrir Square and had been chanting "down with the military regime!" and slogans against Mubarak and President Abdelfattah al-Sisi. A court had dropped a case against Mubarak in connection with the deaths of 239 demonstrators in demonstrations in 2011. (Reporting By Maggie Fick; editing by Ralph Boulton)