Egyptians have gathered in Cairo's Liberation Square to demand a civilian rule on the first anniversary of Egypt's popular revolution that toppled the country's former dictator, Hosni Mubarak.

According to Press TV, thousands of people gathered under rainy skies in Cairo's Liberation Square early Wednesday, exactly one year after the start of the revolution that ousted the Western-backed regime of former dictator Hosni Mubarak.

People in the square held banners and chanted against the country's military leaders. Large stages and dozens of tents were also set up amid cold temperatures.

Egypt's junta, which took over after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, has been the target of mass protests in the country for its refusal to live up to its promise of handing the power over to a civilian government.

On the eve of the first anniversary of the start of the Egyptian revolution, Egypt's military rulers announced a partial lifting of the decades-old state of emergency in the country.

The move is seen by many as an attempt to bolster public support and ward off major protests against the military authorities.

Egyptians have been living under the emergency law continuously since the assassination of the country's former President Anwar Sadat in 1981.

The controversial law allows Egyptian authorities to ban public