At least 13 people were killed as security forces tried to clear protesters from Cairo's Tahrir Square, casting a dark shadow over Egypt's first elections since Hosni Mubarak's downfall, AFP reports.

Police and military forces used batons, tear gas and birdshot to clear the central square of thousands of protesters demanding that the ruling military cede power to a civilian authority.

Morgue officials said 13 people died on Sunday and two people on Saturday, kicking off a violent countdown to the country's first elections since the end of former president Mubarak's 30-year-rule.

At least four people were shot dead on Sunday, November 20, the officials said.

The health ministry said 10 were killed Sunday and 1,700 wounded over the weekend in the clashes, in a statement to the official MENA news agency.