Egyptian police fired tear gas and 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.

Police first used water cannon and then charged at protesters in armoured vans, firing volleys of tear gas, AFP reported.

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