500 injured in Cairo street battles

Subject: 500 injured in Cairo street battles Wed Feb 02, 2011 11:17 pm

Chaos consumed Cairo's main square as supporters of embattled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak violently clashed with opposition protesters in running battles that left at least 500 people injured and at least one man dead.

Tahrir Square, a focal point for nine days of anti-government demonstrations, was transformed into a battlefield, with protesters lobbing hundreds of stones at each other as the army fired warning shots into the air.

Regime supporters, who earlier charged anti-Mubarak protesters on camel and horseback, dropped concrete blocks onto the crowd from above, and tear gas was fired at anti-government opponents, though it was unclear who was responsible.

Two petrol bombs thrown by pro-regime supporters landed inside the grounds of the world-famous Egyptian Museum, where they were swiftly put out.

Anti-government demonstrators accused Mr Mubarak and his government of dispatching "thugs" to attack them, after hundreds of pro-regime partisans marched into the central square around 3pm (local time).

Clashes began almost immediately and some of the fiercest battles erupted in front of the Egyptian museum. Soldiers formed a human chain to prevent people from entering its grounds.

Mubarak supporters on camel and horseback charged anti-government protesters, who surrounded them, dragging at least six from their animals and beating them.

Groups of government opponents meanwhile plucked at least 30 Mubarak supporters one by one from the crowd and beat them before handing them over to soldiers.

Soldiers surrounding the square took cover from flying stones. Some stood on tanks and appealed in vain for calm.

Protesters shouted "One, two, where is the Egyptian army?" as anti-Mubarak demonstrators clambered onto tanks to lob stones at regime supporters.

"I've come here to defend the freedoms that we've won now that they are under threat," anti-government protester Shibl, a doctor, said.

Nurse Aisha Hussein said hundreds of people were being treated at a makeshift clinic in a mosque just off the square.

She described a scene of "absolute mayhem" as protesters first began to flood into the clinic with multiple wounds, some needing stitches, and broken bones.

Anti-Mubarak protesters accused the leader's National Democratic Party (NDP) of orchestrating the clashes and showed a reporter four party membership cards they said were taken from demonstrators who began attacking people.

"The pro-Mubarak NDP and the secret police dressed in plain clothes, they invaded the place to get rid of the revolt," protester Mohammed Zomor, 63, said.

The Interior Ministry denied plain-clothes policeman had entered the square, state news agency MENA said, but the opposition insisted police had stormed the area and there were fears that more would move in after dark.

Transition

The clashes came after pro-regime demonstrators staged protests at points across Cairo, pledging their allegiance to the beleaguered Mr Mubarak, who has said he will not stand for re-election in September.

But the long-time ruler has not indicated any plans to leave office, a key demand of the anti-government protesters who have shaken Egypt with nine days of unprecedented demonstrations.

Egypt's foreign ministry says it rejects US and European calls for the process of political transition to start now.

The White House deplored the latest violence against "peaceful protesters", as did Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the attacks on protesters were "unacceptable".

Demonstrators said they would proceed with plans for a massive protest on Friday, their designated "departure day" for Mr Mubarak.

"We will demonstrate on Friday, the 'Friday of Departure', and we expect more than one million people to take to the streets across all of Egypt to demand the fall of the regime," opposition activist Iman Hassan said.

Ahead of the clashes, supporters of the president had staged a number of rallies around Cairo, saying Mr Mubarak represented stability amid growing insecurity, and calling those who want his departure "traitors".

"Yes to Mubarak, to protect stability," read one banner in a crowd of 500 gathered near state television headquarters, about one kilometre from Tahrir Square.

A witness said organisers were paying people 100 Egyptian pounds ($17) to take part in the pro-Mubarak rally.

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