Egypt imposes curfew, deploys army after protests, Field Marshal Tantawi accused of being - yeah, you guessed it - a Zionist puppet

Armoured military vehicles close the road to Abbasiya Square, near Egypt's Defence Ministry, in Cairo May 4, 2012. Egypt's army imposed an overnight curfew around the defence ministry in Cairo on Friday after protesters clashed with troops there during demonstrations against the country's military rulers, leaving one soldier dead and 373 people wounded. (Reuters Pictures)

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's military rulers on Saturday imposed an overnight curfew and deployed soldiers around the Defence Ministry to deter a repeat of Friday's deadly violence, less than three weeks before a presidential vote.

One soldier died and almost 400 people were wounded in Friday's clashes, the second time in a week that protests over the army's handling of Egypt's troubled transition from army rule to civilian government have turned violent.

The military imposed a 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew (2100 GMT to 0500 GMT) in the Abbasiya district around the defense ministry for the second straight day, according to a military source.

The streets were calm on Saturday as cleaners swept up rocks and other projectiles hurled by protestors during the previous night's violence. Troops responded with fired teargas and charged the crowd to drive them from the ministry.

Eleven people were killed in disturbances on Wednesday.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said at least 18 journalists had been assaulted, injured or arrested while covering the clashes.

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A protester carries a picture of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), with his head on the body of a snake with U.S and Israel flags behind it, during clashes with riot police and army soldiers at Abbasiya square near Egypt's Defence Ministry, in Cairo May 4, 2012. Egypt's army imposed an overnight curfew around the defence ministry in Cairo on Friday after protesters clashed with troops there during demonstrations against the country's military rulers, leaving one soldier dead and 373 people wounded. (Reuters Pictures)