Egyptian police fired tear gas at dozens of protesters in Cairo on Friday who rallied against a controversial deal to hand two islands in the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia, a security official said.

Egyptian police fired tear gas at dozens of protesters in Cairo on Friday who rallied against a controversial deal to hand two islands in the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia, a security official said.

A police official said officers fired tear gas and made arrests at one of the protests in the Cairo neighborhood of Mohandessin.

The deal to hand over two islands in the Straits of Tiran, signed during a visit by Saudi Arabia's King Salman to Cairo last week, has provoked a storm of criticism against Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Police had warned Egyptians on Thursday not to hold demonstrations after activists called for rallies across Cairo after Friday weekly Muslim prayers.