Egyptian police killed two protesters and injured hundreds others as demonstrators staged an anti-military rule in Cairo’s Tahrir square.
Egyptian police killed two protesters and injured hundreds others as demonstrators staged an anti-military rule in Cairo’s Tahrir square.
The clashes began Saturday in Tahrir Square, as police fired tear gas as well as rubber bullets to break up a lengthy sit-in organized by some of the driving forces behind the Arab Spring revolt that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak in February.
Down with Tantawi," hundreds of demonstrators cried in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square, referring to the post-Mubarak military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, as they lobbed rocks and other objects towards armed police.
Medics announced the deaths of Ahmed Mahmoud, 23, who sustained a bullet wound to the chest in Cairo, and Baha Eddin Mohamed Hussein, 25, hit by a rubber bullet in Alexandria as the protests spread from the capital.
The sit-in was joined by some of the tens of thousands of protesters who had flooded the square on Friday to demand a quick transition to civilian rule and an end to Tantawi's military council, which replaced the Mubarak regime.
Police had seized the square, only to be beaten back by protesters who triumphantly retook it on Saturday evening chanting "The people want to topple the field marshal", Tantawi.
One of the protesters, Ali Abdel Aziz, said security forces beat up people indiscriminately.
"They beat us harshly, they didn't care for either men or women. The interior ministry must take responsibility. We have one demand, the military council must go," said the 32-year-old accountancy professor.
The military, in charge since Mubarak's resignation on February 11, says it will hand over power after a presidential election, which has yet to be scheduled.
Parliamentary polls are to start on November 28.
The health ministry said that about 750 people were wounded in the clashes in Tahrir Square, epicenter of the 18 days of protests that ousted Mubarak, as demonstrations spread to Alexandria, Aswan and Suez.
