Cairo: At least two demonstrators were killed and at least 70 injured in clashes between the Egyptian army and demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square early Saturday morning. The confrontation occurred between demonstrators and an uncertain number of Egyptian security forces around 3am Saturday morning. The army's crackdown on protesters came after another Friday of contestation. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians gathered in Midan Tahrir to contribute to what was reportedly the biggest demonstration after the square was forcibly cleared by the army on March 10. A group of some 4,000 protesters still filled the square late Friday night, and popular revolutionary songwriters like Ramy Essam performed on an improvised stage. Demonstrators declared that they would not leave the square if their demands were not to be fulfilled. “First of all we want Hosni Mubarak to be persecuted and as a second point the army has hand over power to a civil cabinet,” asserted a spokeswoman for the 6th of April movement, Amal Sharaf. Protests were also officially joined by the Muslim Brotherhood, which had refused to take part in last Friday's protest as they were allowing the army more time to fulfill people's demand. A group of around 15-20 army officers joined the demonstrations on Friday afternoon in defiance of an official order banning army personnel from participating. The move increased tensions in the square. “If the Army wants to execute us for desertion,” said one of the officers addressing the crowd in Tahrir, “they have to come and do it here in front of the whole world.” As dozens of people gathered around the officers to prevent them being arrested by the army, troops approached and surrounded the square. Unconfirmed sources report three of the officers were killed during the crackdown. Army intervention was preceded by preliminary arrests of media operators working on the field. “An officer and several policemen approached me while I was filming soldiers standing in Tahrir,” Egyptian photographer and filmmaker Khaled Nagy told Bikyamasr. “They knew what I was doing. They came straight to me and arrested me right before the army started firing on the crowd,” he added. The battle raged for roughly three hours between 3-6am, turning Tahrir into what looks almost like a warzone. On Saturday morning people spontaneously came back to the Square. All streets accessing to Tahrir have been block with barbed-wire. As the 6th of April movement has called for a resumption of a permanent sit-in in the square, demanding that their requests be heard, more and more people gather in Tahrir. Sources report that another army intervention is expected for tonight if demonstrators refuse to leave the sit-in. BM
